Complete DHS Report for
December 4, 2015
Daily Report
Top Stories
• Southern California Gas Co. announced December 1 that it
will plug an underground leak of natural gas that has been discharging into the
air in Aliso Canyon near Los Angeles since mid-October due to a broken
injection-well pipe. – Reuters
2. December 1, Reuters –
(California) Utility steps up efforts to plug massive California methane
leak. Southern California Gas Co. announced December 1 that it will plug an
underground leak of natural gas that has been discharging into the air in Aliso
Canyon near Los Angeles since mid-October, which is believed to be due to a
broken injection-well pipe. The project is estimated to take at least 3 months,
and will address the estimated release of the methane gas at the rate of 50,000
kilograms per hour. Source:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/12/02/us-california-methane-idUSKBN0TL06120151202
• Starbucks Corp. officials reported the week of November
23 that its holiday turkey panini sandwiches would be pulled from 1,347 of its
stores in 3 States due to E. coli contamination found in a celery-and-onion
blend. – Bloomberg News
10. December 1, Bloomberg
News – (National) Starbucks pulls turkey sandwiches from west coast
stores after E. coli scare. Officials from Starbucks Corp. reported the
week of November 23 that its holiday turkey panini sandwiches would be pulled
from 1,347 of its stores in 3 States after it was discovered that the products
may be contaminated by E. coli bacteria due to a celery-and-onion blend in the
product produced by California-based Taylor Farms Pacific Inc. Consumption of
the product sickened 19 people in 7 States since November 2015. Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-12-01/starbucks-pulls-sandwich-from-u-s-west-stores-on-e-coli-scare
• Officials are investigating the motive behind a fatal
shooting that occurred at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino December
2 after a married couple opened fire, killing 14 people and injuring 21 others.
– New York Times
20. December 3, New York
Times – (California) F.B.I treats San Bernardino attack as possible
terrorism case. Officials continue to investigate the motive behind a fatal
shooting that occurred at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino December
2 after a married couple armed with 2 assault rifles, 2 semiautomatic handguns,
and tactical gear opened fire and killed 14 people and injured 21 others before
fleeing the scene. Police chased the suspects in a van and engaged in open fire
once the suspects began shooting, resulting in the deaths of both suspects.
• Minneapolis-based Target Corp. agreed December 2 to pay
banks, credit unions, and MasterCard Inc. card issuers $39.4 million to settle
class-action claims for additional costs associated with a 2013 data breach. – Reuters
22. December 2, Reuters –
(National) Target in $39.4 million settlement with banks over data breach. Minneapolis-based
Target Corp. agreed December 2 to pay banks, credit unions, and MasterCard Inc.
card issuers $39.4 million to settle class-action claims by lenders seeking to
hold the company liable for costs to reimburse fraudulent charges and to issue
new credit and debit cards following a 2013 data breach that compromised 40
million credit cards and lost the information of 70 million people. Source:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/12/03/us-target-breach-settlement-idUSKBN0TL20Y20151203
Financial Services Sector
5. December 2, Westfield
Patch – (New Jersey) Union County man arrested in $6 million mortgage
fraud scheme. An Elizabeth man pleaded guilty in Federal court December 2
for orchestrating a $6 million mortgage fraud scheme across northern New Jersey
from March 2011 to November 2012 that ultimately defrauded the U.S. Federal
Housing Administration of more than $2 million. The man reportedly was able to
obtain mortgages with fraudulently produced loan documents, bank account
certifications, and appraisal reports, in addition to recruiting straw buyers. Source: http://patch.com/new-jersey/westfield/union-county-man-arrested-6-million-mortgage-fraud-scheme-0
Information Technology Sector
19. December 2, IDG News
Service – (International) Cisco patches permission hijacking issue in
WebEx Meetings app for Android. Cisco released patches for an
authentication flaw found in its WebEx Meetings application, affecting all
older versions of the application before version 8.5.1 that allowed attackers
to trick users to download a rogue application to their Android devices, which
enabled hackers to infiltrate its permissions settings and gain access to the
device. Cisco advised customers to download newer versions of its application
starting with version 8.5.1. Source:
http://www.computerworld.com/article/3011397/security/cisco-patches-permission-hijacking-issue-in-webex-meetings-app-for-android.html#tk.rss_security
Communications Sector
Nothing to report