Complete DHS Report for June 22, 2016
Daily Report
Top Stories
• The California Independent System Operator declared a Flex Alert
for southern California for 11 hours June 20 due to a heat wave that put a
strain on the State’s power grid. – KABC 7 Los Angeles
1. June 20,
KABC 7 Los Angeles – (California) Flex Alert as SoCal heat wave strains power
grid. The California Independent System Operator declared a Flex Alert for
southern California for 11 hours June 20 due to a heat wave that put a strain
on the State’s power grid. The Flex Alert urges residents to voluntarily
conserve electricity by turning off unneeded lighting, refraining from the use
of major appliances, and by setting air conditioning thermostats to 78 degrees
or higher. Source: http://abc7.com/weather/flex-alert-issued-as-socal-heat-wave-strains-power-grid/1393006/
• A Massachusetts woman pleaded guilty June 20 to orchestrating a
scheme where she and co-conspirators cashed 236 fraudulent Federal income tax
refund checks in order to steal nearly $1.4 million in tax returns. – Springfield
Republican See item 5 below in
the Financial Services Sector
• Acer Inc., reported that its online store was compromised after
a hacker leaked 34,500 customers’ data including customer names, addresses, and
credit card numbers with expiration dates and CVC security codes from May 2015
– April 2016. – PC World See item 20 below in
the Information Technology Sector
• The New York State Canal Corp. announced June 17 that a 30-mile
stretch of the Erie Canal between Brockport and the village of Middleport will
be closed for several weeks beginning June 27 for repair. – Associated Press
26. June 17,
Associated Press – (New York) 30-mile stretch of Erie Canal to close for culvert
repairs. The New York State Canal Corp. announced June 17 that a 30-mile
stretch of the Erie Canal between Brockport and the village of Middleport will
be closed for several weeks beginning June 27 while crews repair one of a
series of century-old culverts built under the waterway.
Financial Services Sector
4. June 20,
Barnegat-Manahawkin Patch – (National) Stafford police arrest man wanted
for $386,000 in bank fraud by opening up phony bank accounts. A New Jersey
man was arrested in Atlantic City June 18 after he and co-conspirators
allegedly defrauded TD Bank out of $386,000 by opening over 86 fraudulent
checking accounts at bank branches in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York,
Connecticut, and Massachusetts since June 2015. The man was arrested after a
bank employee recognized the man from previous fraud attempts and notified
authorities. Source: http://patch.com/new-jersey/barnegat-manahawkin/stafford-police-arrest-man-wanted-386-000-bank-fraud-opening-phony
5. June 20,
Springfield Republican – (Massachusetts) Springfield woman admits
cashing $1.4M worth of fake tax refund checks. A Springfield, Massachusetts
woman pleaded guilty June 20 to orchestrating a scheme where she and
co-conspirators cashed 236 fraudulent Federal income tax refund checks in order
to steal nearly $1.4 million in tax returns from January 2012 – May 2013.
Authorities stated that the group filed the fraudulent returns and Social
Security numbers under the names of people living in Puerto Rico, while the
addresses were falsely listed as Massachusetts and New York. Source: http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/06/springfield_woman_admits_cashi.html
Information Technology Sector
19. June 20,
SecurityWeek – (International) Cybercriminals use new tricks in phishing
attacks. Sucuri researchers reported that phishing attacks were increasing
and cyber attackers were using new techniques to avoid detection after
discovering that attackers were leveraging hosting providers’ failures to
properly configure temporary Uniform Resource Locators (URLs), which were
offered to users to test their Web sites before linking them to separate
domains. An attacker can register an account on a shared server, upload their
phishing pages, and compile a list of other Web sites on that server, which
enables hackers’ access from any neighboring domain names.
20. June 20,
PC World – (International) Acer security breach exposes data of 34,500
online shoppers. Acer Inc., reported that its online store was compromised
after a hacker leaked 34,500 customers’ data including customer names,
addresses, and credit card numbers with expiration dates and CVC security codes
from May 2015 – April 2016. The breach was considered a security issue when the
company inadvertently stored customer data in an unsecured format. Source: http://www.computerworld.com/article/3086155/security/acer-security-breach-exposes-data-of-34500-online-shoppers.html
Communications Sector
21. June 21,
SecurityWeek – (International) Apple patches RCE flaw in AirPort routers. Apple
released firmware versions 7.6.7 and 7.7.7 for OS X or iOS operating systems
patching a remote code execution (RCE) flaw in its AirPort Express, Extreme,
and Time Capsule routers due to an issue with memory corruption related to
Domain Name System (DNS) data parsing, which could potentially allow a remote
attacker to execute arbitrary code and compromise the user’s entire network. Source: http://www.securityweek.com/apple-patches-rce-flaw-airport-routers
22. June 20,
SecurityWeek – (International) Silent OS 3.0 for Blackphone brings new
security features. Silent Circle released version 3.0 for its Silent
operating system (OS) used in Blackphone 2 smartphones, patching security
vulnerabilities in addition to two new features in the Security Center. The two
new features include the Privacy Meter and the Cellular Intrusion Detection
System (CIDS) which monitors the device’s configuration, checks for any data
security or privacy threats, and warns users about possible threats related to
the baseband and its connection to the cellular network.
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