Complete DHS Report for February 8, 2016
Daily Report
Top Stories
• Fiat Chrysler Automobiles issued a voluntary recall
February 3 for 441,578 of its Dodge Charger sedans sold in the U.S. due to a
wheel chock defect that could cause the vehicle to fall off a tire jack when
changing wheels. – USA Today
2. February
3, USA Today – (International) Fiat Chrysler recalls half a million Dodge
Chargers. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles issued a voluntary recall February 3
for 441,578 of its model years 2011 – 2016 Dodge Charger sedans sold in the
U.S. after 3 major injuries occurred as a result of a wheel chock defect that
could cause the vehicle to fall off a tire jack when changing wheels. The
recall also affects 63,145 vehicles sold in Canada, Mexico, and outside of
North America. Source: http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2016/02/03/fiat-chrysler-recall-wheel-chocks/79749968/
• Federal and State officials in New York announced
February 4 that Bank Julius Baer & Co., Ltd. will pay $547 million to
settle charges for evading Federal income tax obligations, filing false tax
returns, and cheating the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from 1990 – 2009.
– U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York See item 5 below in the Financial Services Sector
• The chief executive officer (CEO) of the Union County
General Hospital in Blairsville and five other suspects were arrested February
4 for allegedly participating in a prescription drug ring. – Atlanta Journal-Constitution
15. February
4, Atlanta Journal-Constitution – (Georgia; North Carolina) GA
hospital CEO, 5 suspects arrested in prescription drug bust. The chief
executive officer (CEO) of the Union County General Hospital in Blairsville and
five other suspects were arrested February 4 for allegedly participating in a
prescription drug ring. One of the suspects, a physician from Union County, is
accused of reportedly writing more than 15,000 fraudulent prescriptions for
painkillers for the CEO over a 3-year period. Source: http://news.blog.ajc.com/2016/02/04/ga-hospital-ceo-5-suspects-arrested-in-prescription-drug-bust/
• The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced
February 4 that operations resumed after its processing systems were brought
back online following a system outage February 3. – Reuters
19. February
4, Reuters – (National) IRS resumes processing tax returns Thursday after
system outage. The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced February 4
that operations resumed after its processing systems were brought back online
following a system outage February 3. An investigation is ongoing into the
cause of the outage, which is believed to be attributed to a hardware failure. Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-irs-computers-idUSKCN0VD312
Financial Services Sector
3. February
5, Capital Gazette – (Maryland) Gambrills women indicted for alleged roles in
‘Felony Lane Gang’ bank fraud. The U.S. Attorney’s Office reported that two
Gambrills, Florida women and 13 other accomplices were indicted February 4 for
stealing more than $1 million after breaking into vehicles parked at Maryland
recreation areas, sports fields, gyms, and fitness centers and using the
victim’s checks, credit cards, and IDs to make fraudulent financial
transactions. The culprits obtained money from more than a dozen financial
institutes by using the victims’ identities to withdraw large amounts of funds.
Source: http://www.capitalgazette.com/news/for_the_record/ph-ac-cn-bank-fraud-gambrills-0205-20160205-story.html
4. February
4, New York Daily News – (National) Father and son who ran $11M
vending machine scam found guilty of fraud. Two men were found guilty
February 3 in Manhattan Federal Court for bilking $11 million from 1,300
investors nationwide between January 2005 and December 2011 by falsely
promising investors that they would receive windfalls from vending machine
business opportunities, and access to established, high-end profit locations if
the investors purchased packages of 5 or 10 vending machines. Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/father-son-sentenced-prison-vending-machine-scam-article-1.2520924
5. February
4, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York –
(International) Manhattan U.S. attorney announces criminal charges against
Bank Julius Baer of Switzerland with deferred prosecution agreement requiring
payment of $547 million, as well as guilty pleas of two Julius Baer bankers. Federal
and State officials in New York announced February 4 that Switzerland-based
Bank Julius Baer & Co., Ltd. will pay $547 million to settle charges that
the bank helped U.S. taxpayers and others hide billions in offshore accounts,
evade Federal income tax obligations, file false tax returns, and cheat the
U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) between 1990 – 2009. Two former client
advisers at the bank pleaded guilty to helping several U.S. clients evade U.S
taxes. Source: http://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/manhattan-us-attorney-announces-criminal-charges-against-bank-julius-baer-switzerland
6. February
4, KHON 2 Honolulu – (Hawaii) Man accused of fake credit card spree charged, real
identity revealed. A California man was arrested and charged February 3
after he allegedly bought $300,000 worth of merchandise using a fake credit
card in Ala Moana and Waikiki, Hawaii. Source: http://khon2.com/2016/02/04/man-accused-of-fake-credit-card-spree-charged-real-identity-revealed/
For another story, see item 19 above in Top Stories
Information Technology Sector
20. February
5, SecurityWeek – (International) Avast patches vulnerability in SafeZone Tool.
A researcher from Google discovered a vulnerability in Avast’s SafeZone tool,
also known as Avastium, that allowed attackers to gain additional privileges
and conduct various actions on the system by convincing a victim to visit a
malicious Uniform Resource Locator (URL). The vulnerability was exploited due
to Avast’s low security check which allowed any URL to pass through without any
restrictions. Source: http://www.securityweek.com/avast-patches-vulnerability-safezone-tool
21. February
4, SecurityWeek – (International) Dell adds BIOS verification technology to
business PCs. Dell released a new enterprise endpoint security solution,
the post-boot BIOS verification technology integrated with its Data Protection
Endpoint Security Suite Enterprise that will help detect against BIOS-specific
attacks or compromised systems by using a secure cloud platform to test
individual BIOS images against official images held by Dell. Source: http://www.securityweek.com/dell-adds-bios-verification-technology-business-pcs
22. February
4, SecurityWeek – (International) Exploits released for unpatched flaws in
Netgear Management System. An information security researcher discovered
flaws in Netgear’s ProSAFE NMS300 network management system that can allow a
remote, unauthenticated attacker to upload an arbitrary file to the system by
sending a specially crafted POST request to one of two Java servlets found in
the default NMS300 installations, as well as conduct a directory traversal
attack that can allow a hacker to download any file from the system, among
other flaws. Source: http://www.securityweek.com/exploits-released-unpatched-flaws-netgear-management-system
Communications Sector
23. February
4, Olympia Olympian – (Washington) CenturyLink: Work to remedy weeklong
‘disruptions’ in Olympia and Tumwater nearly done. CenturyLink officials
announced February 4 that internet and phone services should be restored to
most customers in Tumwater by February 5 after inclement weather flooded old
underground cables, causing power outages January 29.