Monday, May 18, 2015




Complete DHS Report for May 18, 2015

Daily Report

Top Stories

 · Officials reported May 14 that Duke Energy Corporation pleaded guilty to 9 criminal violations at several of its North Carolina facilities, and will pay over $102 million in fines, community service payments, and restitution.– U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

1. May 15, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – (North Carolina) Duke Energy subsidiaries plead guilty and sentenced for Clean Water Act crimes/the companies will pay a fine and conduct community service and wetlands mitigation. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Justice, and 3 U.S. Attorney’s offices in North Carolina announced May 14 that 3 subsidiaries of Duke Energy Corporation pleaded guilty to 9 criminal violations at several of its North Carolina facilities, 4 of which involve the 2014 massive coal ash spill from the Dan River steam station into the Dan River. The companies will pay a $68 million fine, a $24 million community service payment, and provide $10 million to an authorized wetlands mitigation fund, in addition to paying restitution to the Federal, State, and local governments. Source: http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/12ec4eca30be9a5d85257e45006b4215

 · Nebraska declared a state of emergency May 14 after agriculture officials confirmed the presence of H5N2 avian flu on a second farm in Dixon County. – Reuters

8. May 14, Reuters – (Nebraska) Nebraska declares state of emergency in bird flu outbreak. The governor of Nebraska declared a state of emergency May 14 after federal agriculture officials confirmed the presence of H5N2 avian flu on a second farm in Dixon County, which contains 1.8 million egg-laying hens. Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/14/us-health-birdflu-usa-idUSKBN0NZ29S20150514

 · The U.S. Department of Justice unsealed an indictment May 14 charging former Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department personnel for allegedly plotting to sabotage an FBI investigation into corruption and civil rights abuses at County jails. – KTLA 5 Los Angeles

13. May 14, KTLA 5 Los Angeles – (California) Former L.A. County undersheriff indicted, suspected of impeding FBI jail abuse investigation. The U.S. Department of Justice unsealed an indictment May 14 charging the former Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department undersheriff and the former undersheriff’s captain for allegedly plotting to sabotage an FBI investigation into corruption and civil rights abuses at county jails, after authorities discovered that an inmate was an FBI informant. A total of 21 sheriff’s officials were charged in the scheme that began in 2011. Source: http://ktla.com/2015/05/14/before-surrendering-ex-undersheriff-tanaka-calls-indictment-in-l-a-county-jail-corruption-scandal-baseless/

 · Approximately 100,000 Comcast customers in Boulder, Colorado lost internet and cable service for about 8 hours May 14 after a work crew inadvertently cut a fiber cable. – KUSA 9 Denver See item 16 below in the Communications Sector

Financial Services Sector

3. May 15, South Florida Sun-Sentinel – (Florida) FBI hunts for serial bank robber dubbed ‘Lucky Bandit’. The FBI is offering a $2,500 reward for information leading to the arrest of the suspect dubbed the “Lucky Bandit”, who is wanted in connection to 8 robberies in Pembroke Pines, Cooper City, and Hollywood in a 6 month span. Source: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/fl-lucky-bandit-fbi-hunt-20150514-story.html

4. May 14, The Oregonian/OregonLive – (Oregon; Washington; Nevada) Theft ring accused of using Oregon data breach to help steal $2 million in tax refunds. Five suspects from Georgia and Maryland were indicted May 7 for their roles in an identity-theft ring which they allegedly mined the personal information of over 125,000 people to file $6.6 million in false tax returns from 2013 – 2014, $2 million of which they successfully collected. Four of the suspects have been arrested while one remains at large. Source: http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2015/05/alleged_thieves_accused_of_usi.html

Information Technology Sector

14. May 15, Softpedia – (International) Aparche fixes vulnerability affecting security manager protections. The security team responsible for Apache Tomcat discovered a vulnerability in multiple versions of the software’s open-source web server and servlet container that could allow an attacker to bypass protections for the Security Manager component and run malicious web applications. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Apache-Fixes-Vulnerability-Affecting-Security-Manager-Protections-481312.shtml

15. May 14, CNN – (International) Washington Post mobile site temporarily shut down in apparent hack. The Washington Post confirmed that it was the victim of an apparent hack May 14 after the paper’s mobile Web site was blocked and redirected users to a site claiming to be run by the Syrian Electronic Army. No customer information was impacted. Source: http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/14/politics/washington-post-mobile-website-hacked-syrian/

Communications Sector

16. May 14, KUSA 9 Denver – (Colorado) 100,000 customers lose Comcast services. Approximately 100,000 Comcast customers in Boulder lost Internet and cable service for about 8 hours May 14 after a work crew inadvertently cut a fiber cable. Source: http://www.9news.com/story/news/local/2015/05/15/100000-customers-loose-comcast-services/27353549/