Wednesday, April 29, 2015



Complete DHS Report for April 29, 2015

Daily Report

Top Stories

 · The governor of Louisiana declared a state of emergency April 27 after storms knocked out power to the New Orleans International Airport, derailed several train cars off an elevated track on a bridge, and left nearly 238,000 customers without electricity. – Reuters

8. April 28, Reuters – (Louisiana) Storm knocks out power to New Orleans airport for hours. The governor of Louisiana declared a state of emergency April 27 due to a band of storms that knocked out power to the New Orleans International Airport, sent several freight train cars on an elevated track of the Huey P. Long Bridge off the bridge, and left nearly 238,000 customers without electricity. Several New Orleans schools canceled classes due to flood damage and loss of power. Source: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/04/27/us-usa-louisiana-weather-idUKKBN0NI22P20150427

 · Officials in Topeka, Kansas, reported April 27 that a power failure at a city pump station caused about 3 million gallons of raw sewage to discharge into the Kansas River. – Topeka Capital-Journal

16. April 27, Topeka Capital-Journal – (Kansas) 3 million gallons of sewage leak into Kansas River after pump station power outage. Topeka officials reported April 27 that a power failure at a city pump station caused about 3 million gallons of raw sewage to discharge into the Kansas River April 24 through April 26. The city continues to sample and monitor the river’s bacterial count while working to implement long-term corrections to the pump station. Source: http://cjonline.com/news/2015-04-27/3-million-gallons-sewage-leak-kansas-river-after-pump-station-power-outage

 · Romanian authorities raided 42 locations in 6 countries and detained 25 individuals April 26 in connection to their roles in a group who allegedly cloned cards to steal over $15 million from financial institutions in the U.S. and worldwide. – Softpedia See item 22 below in the Information Technology Sector

 · The governor of Maryland declared a state of emergency April 27 in Baltimore after at least 20 businesses were burned, police officers were injured, and hundreds of arrests were made due to riots that broke out in the city. – USA Today

25. April 28, USA Today – (Maryland) Baltimore braces as protests heat up again. The governor of Maryland declared a state of emergency and deployed a couple thousand National Guard members to Baltimore when riots broke out following a protest in the city April 27, resulting in at least 20 businesses being burned, damage to more than 140 vehicles, and the injury of over 20 police officers. More than 200 arrests were made in connection to the riots, while schools and several businesses were closed April 28, including the Security Square Mall. Source: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/04/28/baltimore-state-of-emergency/26496241/

Financial Services Sector

6. April 27, West Hollywood Patch – (California) West Hollywood ‘Purse Packing Bandit’ pleads to series of bank robberies. An individual pleaded no contest April 27 to charges alleging that she robbed 9 banks and attempted to rob 2 others in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, and West Hollywood as the “Purse Packing Bandit.” Authorities arrested the woman in August 2014 as she fled a bank robbery in Beverly Hills. Source: http://patch.com/california/westhollywood/west-hollywood-purse-packing-bandit-pleads-series-bank-robberies

For another story, see item 23 below in the Information Technology Sector

Information Technology Sector

22. April 28, Softpedia – (International) Cyber gang stealing $15 million from banks dismantled by Romanian authorities. Romanian authorities raided 42 locations in 6 countries and detained 25 individuals April 26 in connection to their roles in a group of over 52 suspects who allegedly cloned cards with information from banks’ computer systems to steal over $15 million from financial institutions in the U.S. and worldwide. The thieves supposedly made 34,000 cash withdrawals from ATMs in 24 countries from February – December 2013. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Cyber-Gang-Stealing-15-Million-from-Banks-Dismantled-by-Romanian-Authorities-479523.shtml

23. April 28, Computer Business Review – (International) US plays host to largest number of phishing sites. Findings from a report by Webroot’s 2015 Threat Brief revealed that the U.S. hosts over 75 percent of phishing sites and 31 percent of internet protocol (IP) addresses, and that technology companies and financial institutions were the most frequent targets. Source: http://www.cbronline.com/news/cybersecurity/data/us-plays-host-to-largest-number-of-phishing-sites-4563482

24. April 28, Help Net Security – (International) Email delivery service SendGrid confirms data breach. SendGrid email and delivery service officials reported April 27 that a hacker had accessed internal systems containing account login information, email lists, and contact details of company employees and customers in three separate attacks in February and March that compromised a Bitcoin-related customer’s account and used it to send phishing emails. SendGrid announced the release of new security features and forced password resets for all customers. Source: http://www.net-security.org/secworld.php?id=18319

For another story, see item 5 below from the Critical Manufacturing Sector

5. April 27, Securityweek – (National) Hackers tricked AT&T, Network Solutions employees in Tesla attack. Tesla Motors reported that the company’s official Web site and Twitter accounts were hacked over the weekend of April 25 via a domain name system (DNS) hijack attack that remains under investigation. Hackers supposedly social engineered employees of AT&T and Network Solutions by forwarding calls to an illegitimate phone number in order to gain administrator privileges to the company’s domain administrator account. Source: http://www.securityweek.com/hackers-tricked-att-network-solutions-employees-tesla-attack

Communications Sector

See item 5 above from the Critical Manufacturing Sector