Friday, August 7, 2015




Complete DHS Report for August 7, 2015

Daily Report                                            

Top Stories

 · Officials found that an August 4 explosion in the caste house at Noranda Aluminum in New Madrid, Missouri, that destroyed a building and injured 33 workers was due to molten aluminum coming into contact with water. – Associated Press

6. August 5, Associated Press – (Missouri) Federal agency says molten aluminum hitting water apparent cause of Missouri plant explosion. Occupational Safety and Health Administration officials found in a preliminary investigation that an August 4 explosion in the caste house at Noranda Aluminum in New Madrid that destroyed a building and injured 33 workers was due to molten aluminum coming into contact with water. An investigation into the incident is ongoing.Source: http://www.brandonsun.com/business/breaking-news/federal-agency-says-molten-aluminum-hitting-water-apparent-cause-of-missouri-plant-explosion-320762571.html?thx=y

 · The former president and chief financial officer of Wilmington Trust Co., and 2 others were indicted August 5 for allegedly concealing material amounts of past due loans and mortgages exceeding $300 million from 2009 – 2010. – Reuters See item 9 below in the Financial Services Sector

 · Dragos Security discovered at least 11 vulnerabilities in control switches being used in industrial control systems across multiple sectors that could allow an attacker to execute man-in-the-middle (MitM) attacks. – ZDNet See item 41 below in the Information Technology Sector

 · Three individuals were injured after a man armed with a pellet gun and a hatchet released pepper spray at audience members inside a Tennessee movie theater before being shot at and killed by police August 5. – CBS News; Associated Press

44. August 5, CBS News; Associated Press – (Tennessee) New horror at the movies: Man with axe, pellet gun goes berserk. Three individuals were injured after a man armed with a pellet gun and a hatchet released pepper spray at audience members inside a Tennessee movie theater before being shot at and killed by police August 5. Authorities unarmed a hoax device found in the man’s backpack and believe the individual suffered significant psychiatric problems.Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/antioch-tennessee-movie-theater-shooting/

Financial Services Sector

8. August 6, Memphis Daily News – (National) Family indicted on $18M fraud. A former Tennessee State Representative and his 2 sons were indicted August 5 for using their company, First American Monetary Consultants Inc., to allegedly defraud over 300 people in at least 9 States out of $18 million by encouraging customers to buy gold and silver that they never completely received. Source: https://www.memphisdailynews.com/news/2015/aug/6/bates-family-indicted-on-18m-fraud/

9. August 5, Reuters – (National) Ex-Wilmington Trust president, 3 others are indicted over loans. The former president and chief financial officer of Wilmington Trust Co., and 2 others were indicted August 5 for allegedly concealing material amounts of past due loans and mortgages exceeding $300 million from 2009 – 2010, misleading regulators about the company’s finances.Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/08/05/wilmingtontrust-indictments-idUSL1N10G3HP20150805

10. August 5, KXAN 36 Austin – (Texas) Feds: Austin man linked to $23M worth of counterfeit money. An Austin man was indicted August 4 for role in a counterfeiting scheme in which he allegedly forged and distributed U.S. currency worth up to $23 million from March to July. Two other suspects were recently found guilty in connection to counterfeiting U.S. currency in the Austin area. Source: http://kxan.com/2015/08/05/feds-austin-man-linked-to-23m-worth-of-counterfeit-money/

For another story, see item 36 below in the Information Technology Sector
 
Information Technology Sector

36. August 6, Securityweek – (International) GameOver Zeus gang leader engaged in espionage: Researchers. Officials from FBI, Fox-IT, and Crowdstrike released analysis revealing that in addition to using the GameOver Zeus malware to steal about $100 million from banks, the cybercriminal ring used botnets to commit cyberespionage against various countries, including members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Source: http://www.securityweek.com/gameover-zeus-gang-leader-engaged-espionage-researchers

37. August 6, Softpedia – (International) Researcher hacks his way into a GlobalStar satellite. A security researcher from Synack disclosed vulnerabilities such as a lack of encryption in satellite communication protocols, and revealed that he was able to break down GlobalStar’s simplex satcom protocol to hack GlobalStar’s SPOT global-positioning system (GPS) devices. The same protocol could reportedly be used to induce panic by simulating a large-scale disaster, and could hamper emergency response. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/researcher-hacks-his-way-into-a-globalstar-satellite-488659.shtml

38. August 6, Help Net Security – (International) Corporate networks can be compromised via Windows updates. Researchers from Context Information Security reported that Microsoft Windows Update can be used to attack corporate networks by leveraging improperly configured Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) implementations, allowing for fake automatic updates that can install a trojan or other malware, and could be used to grant administrator privileges with a false login. Source: http://www.net-security.org/secworld.php?id=18725

39. August 6, The Register – (International) Hacking Team brewed potent iOS poison for non-jailbroken iThings. Security researchers from FireEye released analysis of Hacking Team breached data revealing that the company had created an “iOS Remote Control System (RCS) agent” to hack into jailbroken iOS devices, as well as other methods targeting non-jailbroken devices via remotely downloaded Masque Attack apps that can execute commands and extract data from compromised devices. Source: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/08/06/hacking_team_ios_trickery_outed/

40. August 5, IDG News Service – (International) Android device makers promise monthly security fixes. Google, Samsung, and LG announced plans to begin issuing monthly security patches for Android devices, citing the operating system’s (OS) increased targeting from cybercriminals. The first large update includes a patch for the Stagefright vulnerability, which can compromise a device via a specially crafted multimedia message (MMS). Source: http://www.computerworld.com/article/2960512/security/android-device-makers-promise-monthly-security-fixes.html

41. August 5, ZDNet – (International) Nuclear nightmare: Industrial control switches need fixing, now. Security researchers at Dragos Security discovered at least 11 vulnerabilities in control switches being used in industrial control systems (ICS) across multiple sectors that could allow an attacker to execute man-in-the-middle (MitM) attacks to cause control systems to shut down a plant or process or force an ICS into a hazardous state. Researchers believe that the attacks are being exploited in the wild, and that the vulnerabilities are made possible by poor authentication protocols and cryptographic integrity. Source: http://www.zdnet.com/article/nuclear-nightmare-industrial-control-switches-need-fixing-now/

42. August 5, Threatpost – (International) APT group gets selective about data it steals. Security researchers from the Dell SecureWorks Counter Threat Unit released findings from a report revealing that the Emissary Panda advanced persistent threat (APT) group has focused its efforts on a number of manufacturing, automotive, aerospace, pharmaceutical, oil and gas, defense industrial base, political, and education organizations in the U.S. and the United Kingdom, utilizing a number of tools to steal and transmit intellectual property via backdoors. Source: https://threatpost.com/apt-group-gets-selective-about-data-it-steals/114103

Communications Sector

See items 37, 39, and 40 above in the Information Technology Sector