Wednesday, March 4, 2015



Complete DHS Report for  March 4, 2015

Daily Report

Top Stories

 · Authorities are searching for 3 armed men that allegedly stole $4 million worth of gold from a TransValue Inc. semi-truck carrying a silver and gold shipment while it was stopped along Interstate 95 in Wilson County, North Carolina, March 1. – Reuters See item 8 below in the Financial Services Sector

 · Officials are investigating attacks on at least 16 farms across South Carolina over the course of about 2 weeks that killed approximately 300,000 chickens and caused about $1.7 million in damage. – Columbia The State; Associated Press

15. March 3, Columbia The State; Associated Press – (South Carolina) Chicken killers leave at least 300,000 dead, millions in damage to SC farms. Authorities are investigating attacks on at least 16 farms across South Carolina over the course of about 2 weeks that killed approximately 300,000 chickens and caused about $1.7 million in damage. The suspect is believed to be familiar with the farmers’ alarm system and chicken houses’ temperature and ventilation systems. Source: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/crime/article12071900.html

 · The FBI arrested 17 individuals from the Detroit area February 27 that are believed to be part of an interstate smash-and-grab theft ring that is responsible for about 40 jewelry store robberies. – Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

29. March 2, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review – (Pennsylvania) Interstate smash-and-grab jewelry ring may be operating in Pittsburgh area, Altoona. The FBI arrested 17 individuals from the Detroit area February 27 that are believed to be part of an interstate smash-and-grab theft ring that is responsible for about 40 jewelry store robberies. Authorities are working to determine if the theft ring is responsible for similar thefts across 7 States and issued wanted posters for 16 individuals believed to be connected to the robberies. Source: http://triblive.com/news/allegheny/7886823-74/fbi-jewelry-park

 · Police were notified March 2 after an estimated $5-10 million worth of electronics was stolen from a Valley Relocating warehouse in west Sacramento, California, when burglars bypassed alarm systems and made off with pallets of computer products. – KTXL 40 Sacramento (See item 30)

30. March 2, KTXL 40 Sacramento – (California) Thieves steal millions in electronics from West Sac warehouse. Police were notified March 2 after an estimated $5-10 million worth of electronics was stolen from a Valley Relocating warehouse in west Sacramento when burglars bypassed alarm systems and made off with pallets of computer products. The burglary remains under investigation while authorities are working to determine if a reported power outage in the area during the weekend of February 28 was related to the theft. Source: http://fox40.com/2015/03/02/thieves-steal-millions-in-electronics-from-west-sac-warehouse/

Financial Services Sector

5. March 3, WUSA 9 Washington, D.C. – (Virginia) Black hat bandits rob Wells Fargo bank in Falls Church. Authorities continue to search for the “Black Hat Bandits” after the 3-man crew allegedly robbed a Wells Fargo bank branch in Falls Church, Virginia, March 2. The suspects are believed to be connected to 7 other bank robberies across northern Virginia and Maryland since January 2, and the FBI reported that the group has become more brazen with each robbery. Source: http://www.wusa9.com/story/news/local/falls-church/2015/03/02/armed-robbery-at-wells-fargo-bank-in-falls-church/24265931/

6. March 2, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission – (International) SEC suspends trading in 128 dormant shell companies to put them out of reach of microcap fraudsters. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced March 2 that it suspended 128 inactive penny stock companies in 24 States and Canada to prevent fraudsters from manipulating the companies’ stock value through misinformation campaigns and dumping the stocks when investors buy in. The SEC has suspended over 800 microcap stocks since 2012 as part of its Operation Shell-Expel initiative. Source: http://www.sec.gov/news/pressrelease/2015-44.html

7. March 2, Albany Times Union – (New York) Pioneer Bank customer data at risk. Pioneer Bank executives in Troy, New York, confirmed March 2 that an employee’s laptop that was stolen from an unidentified location January 26 contained secured personal and account information of an undisclosed number of customers. The bank notified local police and potentially affected customers following the theft, and continues to investigate the incident to determine if an unauthorized party accessed the information. Source: http://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Pioneer-Bank-customer-data-at-risk-6111189.php

8. March 2, Reuters – (North Carolina) Armed men take $4 million in gold from armored truck in North Carolina: police. Authorities are searching for 3 armed men that allegedly stole $4 million worth of gold from a TransValue Inc. semi-truck carrying a silver and gold shipment while it was stopped due to a mechanical issue along Interstate 95 in Wilson County, North Carolina, March 1. The drivers reported that the suspects approached the broken down semi-truck, bound the 2 armed guards, and ordered them into the woods while the men escaped with several barrels of gold. Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/02/us-usa-northcarolina-gold-idUSKBN0LY29W20150302

Information Technology Sector

23. March 3, Help Net Security – (International) Phishers target victims of iOS device theft. Security researchers at Malwarebytes discovered an elaborate phishing campaign that targets victims of iOS device theft by using spoofed messages and a fake iCloud log-in Web page that is available in 10 different languages to steal users’ log-in credentials, enabling the thieves to unlock the stolen devices. Source: http://www.net-security.org/secworld.php?id=18030

24. March 3, Securityweek – (International) Lossy image compression can hide malicioucode in PDF files: Researcher. A security researcher at CSIS discovered that lossy image compressors such as DCTDecode could be used to embed malicious code in high-quality grayscale JPEG images found in PDF files. Source: http://www.securityweek.com/lossy-image-compression-can-hide-malicious-code-pdf-files-researcher

25. March 3, Help Net Security – (International) Mass infection malware attack targets Android. AdaptiveMobile security researchers uncovered a massive new malware attack directed at Android users that uses victims’ mobile device contacts to send emailFacebook, and SMS messages with links to spoofed Amazon vouchers containing the Gazon malware. The attack has infected thousands of devices worldwide and generatedover 16,000 click-throughs since it began in the U.S. February 25. Source: http://www.net-security.org/malware_news.php?id=2975

26. March 3, Softpedia – (International) D-Link fixes router flaws following public, disclosure. D-Link released a firmware update for its DIR-820L router that fixed a flaw that allowed attackers to gain root access to routers through cross-site request forgery (CSRF) attacks by tricking victims into visiting malicious Web pages, allowing unauthorized access to domain name system (DNS) configuration. The company will release updates for other vulnerable routers by March 10. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/D-Link-Fixes-Router-Flaws-Following-Public-Disclosure-474738.shtml

Communications Sector

Nothing to report