Homeland
Security
Current Nationwide
Threat Level
ELEVATED
Daily Open Source Infrastructure
Report for 22 September 2010
Significant Risk of Terrorist Attacks
For information, click here:
http://www.dhs.gov
Top Stories

According to the Associated Press, a person opened fire September 20 at a convenience
store on Fort Bliss in Texas, injuring two people before being killed by responding officers,
the commander of the West Texas Army post said. (See item 40)

The FBI announced that a Chicago man was arrested September 19 immediately after
placing a backpack which he thought contained an explosive device into a curbside trash
receptacle outside a crowded Wrigleyville nightclub. Throughout the summer, he allegedly
discussed with an associate a number of possible targets and plots, including a biological
attack on Chicago, poisoning Lake Michigan, attacking police officers, bombing the Sears
(Willis) Tower, and assassinating the mayor. (See items 55 and 57)
Fast Jump Menu
PRODUCTION INDUSTRIES
• Energy
• Chemical
• Nuclear Reactors, Materials and Waste
• Critical Manufacturing
• Defense Industrial Base
• Dams
SUSTENANCE and HEALTH
• Agriculture and Food
• Water
• Public Health and Healthcare
SERVICE INDUSTRIES
• Banking and Finance
• Transportation
• Postal and Shipping
• Information Technology
• Communications
• Commercial Facilities
FEDERAL and STATE
• Government Facilities
• Emergency Services
• National Monuments and Icons
Energy Sector
Current Electricity Sector Threat Alert Levels: Physical: ELEVATED,
Cyber: ELEVATED
Scale: LOW, GUARDED, ELEVATED, HIGH, SEVERE [Source: ISAC for the Electricity Sector (ES-ISAC) [http://www.esisac.com]
1. September 21, Associated Press – (Michigan) Helicopter for Hugh Jackman movie
snags power line. Authorities said a helicopter used in the filming of the movie
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snagged a power line in Michigan, causing a brief power outage and closing a roadway.
The Huron County sheriff told the Huron Daily Tribune of Bad Axe that no injuries
were reported after the September 19 accident in Sheridan Township, about 90 miles
north of Detroit. A section of a nearby road was closed for a short time. The helicopter
hooked the electrical wire, then seemed to have “directional control issues” before
safely flying away.
Source: http://www.freep.com/article/20100921/NEWS06/100921027/1320/Real-Steelfilming-flub-causes-power-outage
2. September 21, St. Paul Pioneer Press – (Minnesota) 3 firefighters hurt after fire,
explosion at Xcel plant in Burnsville. Three Burnsville firefighters were injured
September 21 at an explosion and fire in a smoldering coal bin at Xcel Energy’s Black
Dog power plant in Burnsville, Minnesota, Xcel Energy said. Two firefighters were
treated at the scene for minor burns and returned to fighting the fire while a third was
transported to Regions Hospital in St. Paul, according to a Burnsville Police
Department spokesman. The 538-megawatt plant, which produces enough electricity to
supply 400,000 households, has been shut down while the cause of the explosion is
under investigation by the Burnsville Fire Department and Xcel, an Xcel spokeswoman
said. She said the utility will buy additional power and does not anticipate supply
problems. Burnsville firefighters were called to the plant, located on the Minnesota
River at 1410 Black Dog Road E., at 7:25 a.m. after Xcel workers noticed smoldering
in a coal bin, the Xcel spokeswoman said. While firefighters were on the site, there was
a “small explosion” in the sheet metal shed, she said. As a precaution, Xcel workers
shut down the plant’s Unit 3 coal-fired boiler, which was closest to the explosion, and
also the plant’s Unit 4 coal boiler. The plant’s remaining boiler, called 5-2 because it
replaced the old Unit 1 and 2 boilers with a modern natural gas unit, was already offline
for maintenance, the spokesman said. It remained shut September 21. Xcel has
proposed closing Black Dog’s two remaining coal-fired boilers and converting them to
modern and larger natural gas units by 2016. The proposal is pending before the
Minnesota Public Utilities Commission. If approved, the project would resemble work
Xcel has done in recent years at its two aging coal plants in St. Paul and Minneapolis.
Source: http://www.twincities.com/ci_16132620
3. September 21, Detroit Free Press – (Michigan) Oil pipeline could restart with new
guidelines. The company that owns the oil pipeline that burst in mid-Michigan this
summer could be allowed to restart the line as long as it repairs more than 100 defects
in 6 months and replaces a section of dented pipe under the St. Clair River in 1 year.
Federal regulators with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
sent a notice late last week to Enbridge Energy Partners demanding more safeguards
before the company is allowed to restart Line 6B, which ruptured in late July. A
Enbridge spokeswoman said the company has “no opposition to the new requirements.”
Source: http://www.freep.com/article/20100921/NEWS05/9210342/Quick-hit-Oilpipeline-could-restart-with-new-guidelines
4. September 20, West Virginia Public Broadcasting – (West Virginia) Marshall County
gas well on fire. A gas well near Cameron, West Virginia is still burning after it caught
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fire September 19. This is the second fire at a natural gas operation in Marshall County
this summer. Seven workers were hurt in a blast near Moundsville June 7, but this time
no one was injured or evacuated. Company officials said the well on Chesapeake
Appalachia’s site is expected to burn for another 24 to 48 hours. Emergency responders
and well control specialists met the morning of September 20. Several departments are
monitoring the scene. “Two of our local VFD’s in the area Cameron and St. Joe VFD
are providing 24-hour coverage on a stand by basis and we have EMS representation as
well who are providing support and standby services for well control workers,” said a
Marshall County EMA deputy director. The state department of environmental
protection is investigating. A spokeswoman said the well is in a remote location and
that is slowing their plans to monitor air quality.
Source: http://www.wvpubcast.org/newsarticle.aspx?id=16726
5. September 19, thinkgeoenergy.com – (Oregon) Drilling pad at Newberry project in
Oregon vandalized. Reported locally, there has been some vandalism at a drilling pad
of Davenport Power’s Newberry geothermal project in Oregon. The project is a joint
project by Davenport Power with AltaRock, and recipient of Department of Energy
R&D funding for enhanced geothermal system development. According to the Bend
Bulletin: “The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of theft and
criminal mischief at one of Davenport Power’s geothermal drill pads west of the
Newberry National Volcanic Monument September 16. People broke into a structure
around the well, stole scientific testing instruments and damaged some seismic devices,
said the president of Davenport Power. They also broke the cap off of a water well and
threw rocks into it, he said. He said he did not know how much the damage would cost
to fix or replace, or how long of a delay it would cause, but added that the vandalism
would not delay the overall geothermal project.”
Source: http://thinkgeoenergy.com/archives/5851
For another story, see item 27
[Return to top]
Chemical Industry Sector
6. September 21, Associated Press – (Virginia) Company, city at odds over acid
storage. Allied Terminals Inc. is at odds with Chesapeake, Virginia, officials over its
plan to store sulfuric acid at a facility where about 2 million gallons of liquid fertilizer
spilled in 2008. A city spokesman said Allied Inc. should apply for a permit from the
city to store the corrosive acid. “Sulfuric acid is a much more volatile chemical,” the
spokesman said. “Two years ago, one of these tanks flooded. That was a mess, but if
[liquid fertilizer] touches you, it’s not the same level of dangerous chemical as
something like sulfuric acid would be.” Allied contends that it does not need a separate
permit. In a letter to the city, Allied said applying for a permit would delay construction
of a storage tank and invalidate a 5-year contract it has with a Florida company to move
the acid. The contract is effective January 1, 2011. “It’s an unfortunate situation,” the
president of Allied said. “We’ve stored lots of chemicals, lots of hazardous materials in
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four different states, and we’ve never run across a problem.” He said the city’s position
could affect terminal business in Chesapeake. The city will hold a public meeting
September 23 for residents of a neighborhood that was flooded by the 2008 fertilizer
spill.
Source: http://www.wavy.com/dpp/news/local_news/chesapeake/company,-city-atodds-over-acid-storage
7. September 20, Stamford Advocate – (Connecticut) Broken chemical drum prompted
Darien rest area shutdown. The 4-hour shutdown of the northbound I-95 rest stop
September 19 at exit 13 in Darien, Connecticut, was caused by a damaged drum of a
hydrogen peroxide solution that spilled about 22 gallons of the liquid inside a box
truck, according to the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).
The driver of the truck reported the liquid leaking from his trailer around 1:30 p.m. to
Connecticut State Police as he prepared to leave the rest area, a DEP spokesman said.
The broken drum was sealed inside another container by technicians from the DEP’s
emergency response unit. The remaining undamaged drums were then moved by an
environmental remediation onto another truck for transport. “It was an accident and not
a large spill, but hydrogen peroxide can be very volatile and cause spontaneous
combustion and corrode materials that it comes into contact with,” the spokesman said.
The Darien Fire Department immediately closed and evacuated the rest area, a
Connecticut State Police lieutenant said, and the spill was contained to the area
immediately behind the trailer.
Source: http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/Broken-chemical-drumprompted-Darien-rest-area-667307.php
For another story, see item 29
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Nuclear Reactors, Materials and Waste Sector
8. September 21, Colorado Independent – (Colorado) Cotter Corp. refuses to pay state
fine for uranium contamination. A uranium mining and milling company for years
blamed for contamination in the Canon City, Colorado area is now refusing to pay state
fines levied for failing to clean up a toxic pond threatening Denver’s water supply.
According to letters obtained by the Colorado Independent, Cotter Corp. –- which owns
the Cotter Mill near Canon City –- has declined to pay a $55,000 fine for contaminating
Ralston Crek, a feeder for Ralston Reservoir, with uranium at levels 1,200 times that of
state maximum thresholds. The reservoir serves as the drinking water supply for
Denver Water and the City of Arvada. “Cotter reserves all of its rights to administrative
and judicial review as provided under Colorado law, and Cotter has exercised and will
continue to exercise such rights as necessary,” the company wrote in a September 10
letter to the state Mined Land Reclamation Board (MLRB). “Accordingly, Cotter
respectfully declines to remit the penalty under the MLRB Order.” The MLRB
answered September 16 that it believes Cotter is in violation of state law and scheduled
an enforcement hearing for November 17-18 in Denver.
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Source: http://coloradoindependent.com/62240/cotter-corp-refuses-to-pay-state-fineuranium-contamination
9. September 21, IDG News Service – (International) Was Stuxnet built to attack Iran’s
nuclear program? A highly sophisticated computer worm that has spread through
Iran, Indonesia and India was built to destroy operations at one target: possibly Iran’s
Bushehr nuclear reactor. That’s the emerging consensus of security experts who have
examined the Stuxnet worm. In recent weeks, they have broken the cryptographic code
behind the software and taken a look at how the worm operates in test environments.
Researchers agree that Stuxnet was built by a very sophisticated and capable attacker
— possibly a nation-state — and it was designed to destroy something big. Though it
was first developed more than 1 year ago, Stuxnet was discovered in July 2010, when a
Belarus-based security company found the worm on computers belonging to an Iranian
client. Since then it has been the subject of ongoing study by security researchers, who
say they have never seen anything like it before. Now, after months of private
speculation, some of the researchers who know Stuxnet best say that it may have been
built to sabotage Iran’s nukes. Last week a well-respected expert on industrial systems
security published an analysis of the worm which targets Siemens software systems,
and suggested that it may have been used to sabotage Iran’s Bushehr nuclear reactor.
The Siemens expert simulated a Siemens industrial network and then analyzed the
worm’s attack.
Source:
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9186920/Was_Stuxnet_built_to_attack_Iran_
s_nuclear_program_
10. September 21, Nuclear Regulatory Commission – (Illinois) NRC approves increased
power output for Lasalle Nuclear power plant. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission
(NRC) has approved a request by Exelon Generation Co. to increase the power
generating capacity of LaSalle County Station Units 1 and 2 by 1.65 percent each. The
NRC staff determined that Exelon could safely increase the reactors’ power output
primarily through more accurate means of measuring feedwater flow. NRC staff also
reviewed the company’s evaluations showing the Seneca, Illinois plant’s design can
accommodate the increased power level. The NRC’s safety evaluation of the proposed
power uprate focused on several areas, including nuclear steam supply systems,
instrumentation and control systems, electrical systems, accident evaluations,
radiological consequences, fire protection, operations and training, testing, and
technical specification changes. The power uprate for LaSalle, located approximately
75 miles southwest of Chicago, will increase each unit’s power generating capacity
from about 1,179 to 1,192 megawatts electric. Exelon intends to implement Unit 1’s
uprate in September, and Unit 2’s uprate following its 2011 spring refueling outage.
Source:
http://nuclearstreet.com/nuclear_power_industry_news/b/nuclear_power_news/archive/
2010/09/21/NRC-Approves-Increased-Power-Output-for-Lasalle-Nuclear-Power-Plant092101.aspx
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11. September 18, Green Bay Press-Gazette – (Wisconsin) Point Beach investigates siren
malfunction. Officials at Point Beach Nuclear Plant near Two Rivers, Wisconsin are
trying to determine why 13 of the plant’s 15 sirens in Manitowoc and Kewaunee
counties randomly sounded earlier this month. The incident happened at 4:20 p.m.
September 9 and was “completely inadvertent,” said the communications manager for
the facility. “We want to assure residents that everything is well at the plant, and we are
investigating why the sirens inadvertently sounded,” she said.
Source:
http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20100918/GPG1008/9180435/PointBeach-investigates-siren-malfunction
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Critical Manufacturing Sector
12. September 21, Maryville Daily Times – (Alabama) Damaged hydraulic line sparked
North Plant fire. The fire at ALCOA’s North Plant September 18 was caused by
leaking hydraulic fluid, an initial investigation has found. “The fire started on the 96inch mill when hydraulic fluid lines were damaged. The resulting fire spread to the roof
of the building,” the community relations manager for ALCOA Rigid Packaging, said
September 20. An assessment, repair and recovery team has been assembled to
determine the cause of the fire, prepare a repair plan and come up with a timeline for
getting the hot mill back on line. The fire forced evacuation of the North Plant, and the
mill operation was halted. All ALCOA employees remain on the job while the hot mill
operation is temporarily shut down. The hot mill transforms aluminum ingots into coils
of can sheet.
Source: http://www.thedailytimes.com/article/20100921/NEWS/309219988
13. September 21, Lake County News-Herald – (Ohio) Fire crews battle Magnesium fire
at Eastlake plant. The Eastlake Fire Department and other area fire departments
responded to a magnesium fire September 17 at Astro Manufacturing and Design in
Eastlake, Ohio. According to the Eastlake fire chief, the fire started at about 1:50 p.m.
He said extinguishing the fire was “manpower intensive Magnesium fires are pretty
stubborn.” Special extinguishers known as Class D fire extinguishers, which are used
specifically for metal fires, were needed to combat the blaze. Because Eastlake Fire
Department has a limited number of such extinguishers, Willoughby, Willowick,
Wickliffe and Mentor fire departments also were called to assist. Crews took extra
precautions fighting the blaze because magnesium powder can be hidden within the
machinery.
Source: http://www.firefightingnews.com/article-us.cfm?articleID=84658
14. September 21, WBIR 10 Knoxville – (Tennessee) Karns firefighters battle Swiss Tech
plant fire. Two machines caught fire at the Swiss Tech machine parts plant in Karns,
Tennessee the morning of September 21, causing an estimated $80,000 in damage. The
Karns fire chief said that the dispatch center originally received a burglar alarm. When
an employee arrived to check out the building around 4:45 a.m., a fire was discovered
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and the fire department was called. Firefighters found heavy smoke coming out of the
building. Crews were able to contain the fire to the area of origin. Although there was
heavy damage, the building was saved.
Source: http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=135160&catid=2
15. September 21, WTAQ 97.5 Green Bay – (Wisconsin) Worker remains hospitalized
after Merrill plant blast. One employee was hospitalized in fair condition at last
word, after an explosion at the Wire Products Manufacturing plant in Merrill,
Wisconsin. Another worker was treated at a Merrill hospital and later released –- and
two others were treated at the scene. The blast happened around 11 a.m. September 20.
According to Merrill fire officials, the two most seriously injured workers were on a
scissor-lift, and were having trouble attempting to light a gas-powered dryer when the
blast occurred. The other two were at the bottom of the lift. A sprinkler system helped
contain the fire to the area of the dryer –- but three of the building’s four walls were
blown out, and pieces of the structure were blown into the yard of a nearby home.
Source: http://www.wtaq.com/news/articles/2010/sep/21/worker-remains-hospitalizedafter-merrill-plant-bl/
For another story, see item 17
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Defense Industrial Base Sector
16. September 20, KTBS 3 Shreveport – (Texas) Red River Army Depot evacuated as
precaution. A suspicious bag with powder forced a temporary evacuation of Red River
Army Depot in Hooks, Texas, September 20. Depot officials said the bag was found in
a production area around 11:30 a.m. Nearly 300 people working at the facility were
evacuated while authorities checked the powdery substance. The all-clear was given
about 1 hour later and the employees returned to work. Authorities did not say what the
substance was. The depot modifies vehicles for military use.
Source: http://www.ktbs.com/news/25091272/detail.html
17. September 20, KHTS 1220 AM Santa Clara – (California) Possible explosion starts
fire in Valencia aircraft company. Firefighters extinguished a small fire that started
just after 4:30 p.m. September 20 at Woodward HRT in the heart of the Valencia
Industrial Center in Santa Clarita, California. Fire officials said a rumbling sound,
possibly an explosion, was reported by the company shortly after 4:30 p.m. Emergency
personnel treated three people at the scene with minor injuries, and cleared the building
prior to their investigation. According to the company’s Web site, Woodward HRT
manufactures motion control systems for military and commercial aircraft.
Source:
http://hometownstation.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=21816:
fire-woodward-aircraft-clarita-2010-&catid=26:local-news&Itemid=97
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Banking and Finance Sector
18. September 21, The Register – (International) Belarusian extradited to US for onestop ID theft site. U.S. prosecutors have extradited a Belarusian national accused of
running a Web site that helped thousands of criminals exploit stolen financial
information. The 26-year-old suspect was transferred from the Czech Republic to
federal prosecutors in Manhattan, New York City September 17. In April, he was
charged with creating and operating CallService.biz, an online service that supplied
identity thieves with English- and German-speaking individuals to call financial
institutions and pose as authorized account holders. They would then confirm
fraudulent withdrawals, transfers, and other transactions being made from
compromised accounts. CallService.biz was designed to make it easy for identity
thieves to complete transactions that require verbal confirmation from an account
holder. Crooks could submit online requests for someone of a particular locale and sex
to call a particular financial institution and make certain types of requests or supply
certain pieces of information. The operators advertised the service on various Web sites
that catered to identity thieves. According to one ad, the service, which operated from
2007 to 2010, helped about 2,090 people carry out 5,400 instances of fraud.
Source: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/09/21/id_theft_website_extradition/
19. September 21, Associated Press – (Michigan) Michigan regulators say credit union
may be scam. Michigan regulators say a Grand Haven-based credit union called
Whitestone Credit Union may have been operating a scam. The state’s office of
financial and insurance regulation announced September 21 that it had ordered
Whitestone Credit Union to stop doing business. The agency said it believes
Whitestone used a Web site and telephone answering service to pose as a legitimate
credit union and may have been attempting to steal consumers’ money and identity
information. A telephone listing for Whitestone wasn’t working September 21. Its Web
site also was not working. The state said Whitestone was encouraging customers to
apply for loans by providing personal information including Social Security and
financial account numbers.
Source: http://www.toledoonthemove.com/news/story.aspx?id=514287
20. September 20, IDG News Service – (International) IETF approves e-crime reporting
format. An Internet standards group has approved an electronic crimes reporting
format, which may eventually give security researchers a cohesive, broad set of data to
gauge online crime. The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) approved a
customized version of the XML-based Instant Object Description Exchange Format
(IODEF). Extensions have been added that are appropriate for creating standard ecrime reports. The format allows for unambiguous time stamps, support for different
languages and a feature to attach samples of malicious code. It solves the problem of
inconsistent reports, which make it harder to spot trends and react faster. The goal is for
groups hit by Internet crime such as banks will be able to mine a centralized databases.
If a bank is experiencing an attack, it could query the database to find out ranges of IP
(Internet Protocol) addresses that have been used for offenses such as phishing attacks.
Further queries could determine if other banks have been hit by attacks and analyze
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spam messages to see if there are common patterns in the grammar or if the attacks
originate from a certain area. All of the information could then be used to contact ISPs
to take steps to stop the abuse. The Anti-Phishing Working Group, which has been
instrumental in developing the reporting format, plans to run a trial to see how
organizations can share the data in the format.
Source:
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9186778/IETF_approves_e_crime_reporting_
format
21. September 20, Las Vegas Sun – (Nevada; Florida; Arizona) Officials: 13,800 credit
cards ‘skimmed’ in alleged scheme. Federal charges have been filed against a Las
Vegas, Nevada man in connection with the production and use of counterfeit credit and
debit cards that allegedly were encoded with information skimmed from gas pumps in
Las Vegas and elsewhere. The 41-year-old suspect is charged in a criminal indictment
with five counts of bank fraud, possession of 15 or more counterfeit access devices,
possession of access device-making equipment and aggravated identity theft, said the
U.S. Attorney for Nevada. From about April 16, 2009, to May 4, 2010, the indictment
alleges the suspect and others installed devices used to steal magnetic information from
credit and debit cards — known as “skimming” — at gas pumps in the Las Vegas area,
as well as in Florida and Arizona. The suspect and others used computers, encoders and
software programs to transfer the stolen credit and debit card information to counterfeit
credit and debit cards through a process called re-encoding, authorities said. A reencode is when someone uses a real credit card and erases the magnetic information on
the magnetic stripe to replace it with the stolen information. The suspect and others
allegedly skimmed about 13,800 credit and debit card account numbers using this
system, and unlawfully used the stolen account numbers to fraudulently obtain about
$591,872 from more than 10 financial institutions, officials said.
Source: http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/sep/20/officials-man-skimmed-13800credit-cards-alleged-s/
[Return to top]
Transportation Sector
22. September 21, Sacremento Bee – (California) Warning light forces Delta jetliner to
land in capital. A Delta Airlines flight en route from Oakland, California to Salt Lake
City, Utah was diverted to Sacramento International Airport in California September 20
after reporting an on-board emergency. A Delta Airlines spokesman said the flight crew
reported that an indicator light went on, signaling a possible problem with an engine.
An airport spokeswoman said the airport staff took emergency precautions, but the
plane landed without incident at about 1:50 p.m. The plane, carrying 150 passengers
and five crew members, taxied to the gate.
Source: http://www.sacbee.com/2010/09/21/3044676/warning-light-forces-deltajetliner.html
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23. September 21, Transport Topics – (National) DOT announces broader texting ban
for Hazmat drivers. The U.S. Transportation Secretary said September 21 that the
federal government would seek to ban text messaging by all drivers hauling hazardous
materials. The secretary made the announcement in starting the Department of
Transportation’s (DOT) second “distracted driving summit” in Washington D.C.
“We’re initiating a new rulemaking that will limit commercial truck drivers’ use of all
electronic devices while transporting hazardous materials,” he said, adding that DOT’s
ban on commercial drivers using a cell phone to text while driving takes effect
September 21. A DOT spokeswoman said that the new proposal was necessary because
the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration only has the authority to ban texting
by interstate carriers, while the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety
Administration can regulate intrastate haz-mat carriers. DOT’s rule banning texting by
truckers was sent to the White House last week for review.
Source: http://www.ttnews.com/articles/basetemplate.aspx?storyid=25218
24. September 20, KPSP 2 Thousand Palms – (California) Plane makes emergency
landing at Palm Springs airport. A U.S. Airways flight that was headed to San Luis
Obispo, California September 20 made an emergency landing at the Palm Springs
International Airport in Palm Springs, California due to engine problems, according to
an airport official. There were reports of a fire in the cargo area of the plane, but when
fire crews arrived, there was no fire found. The plane originated from Phoenix,
Arizona.
Source: http://www.kpsplocal2.com/Content/Headlines/story/san-luis-obispoemergency-landing-plane-airport/ryMXQGYD_0W1XeWcTJ9jRg.cspx
25. September 20, Associated Press – (New York) Smoky fire under NYC bridge halts
Metro-North commuter train traffic for over 2 hours. A large fire under a bridge
sent billowing smoke over New York City, New York and shut down commuter rail
service between Manhattan and the northern suburbs for over 2 hours September 20.
Television footage showed wooden pilings on a pier in the Harlem River began burning
under the 138th Street lift bridge and FDNY marine units hitting the fire with water.
Huge orange flames were visible, and plumes of white and black smoke wafted over
the river and East Harlem. The fire began shortly before noon and was declared under
control around 1:30 p.m. Metro-North resumed service around 2:30 p.m., with scattered
delays of up to 15 minutes. It said two of the four tracks on the bridge had been
restored. The railroad was assessing damage on the remaining tracks and its impact, if
any, on the evening rush-hour.
Source: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-us-bridge-firetrain-service,0,6260754.story
26. September 20, United Press International – (Missouri) Delta jet makes emergency
landing. A Delta passenger jet made an emergency landing at Missouri’s Cape
Girardeau Regional Airport after smoke appeared in its cockpit and cabin, an official
said. No one was injured. The MD-80 jet was flying from Atlanta, Georgia to St. Louis,
Missouri September 19. After it landed, 132 passengers were evacuated and taken by
bus to St. Louis. Firefighters boarded the airplane, but could not find a source for the
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smoke.
Source: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2010/09/20/Delta-jet-makes-emergencylanding/UPI-92791284992006/
27. September 20, KSWT 13 Yuma – (Arizona) Airport temporarily evacuated due to gas
leak. A broken gas line forced an evacuation at the Yuma International Airport in
Yuma, Arizona. According to an airport spokesperson, a construction crew was digging
post holes for the covered parking structure when they ruptured the gas main. The
construction worker immediately called the Yuma Fire Department who responded in
minutes. Southwest Gas was also called and they were able to shut down the gas within
minutes. About 30 people had to be evacuated. A spokesman for the gas company said
the gas is still off and the main will be re-opeedn as soon as the airport can patch the
damaged line. Airport officials said that thanks to the efficiency of the fire department
and Southwest Gas, the situation was resolved within 15 minutes. No flights were
affected.
Source: http://www.kswt.com/Global/story.asp?S=13186448
28. February 21, Reuters – (New York) N.Y. adds subway cameras after Times Square
bomb. New York City, New York activated 500 new subway cameras in heavily
traveled stations in response to security threats such as the attempted bombing of Times
Square, the mayor said September 20. The cameras at the Times Square, Penn Station
and Grand Central subway stations marked an expansion of a previously announced
program that aims to increase the number of security cameras in Manhattan to some
3,000 from 1,159. Those cameras have been largely funded by a $120 million grant
from the Department of Homeland Security. In addition, the Metropolitan
Transportation Authority has activated 1,400 cameras of its own in the past 6 months.
Source: http://theusdaily.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=1207687&type=home
For more stories, see items 3, 7, 30, and 31
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Postal and Shipping Sector
Nothing to report
[Return to top]
Agriculture and Food Sector
29. September 21, Wooster Daily Record – (Ohio) Orrville ammonia spill contaminates
creek, harms fish, amphibians. Firefighters worked much of the day September 19 to
control an ammonia spill that got into the storm sewers and contaminated a creek in
Orrville, Ohio. According to the fire chief, the problem started at 2:21 p.m. when
workers performing routine plant maintenance at the Smith Dairy Products Co., 230 N.
Vine St., reported the spill of an estimated 200 pounds of ammonia on the roof of the
- 11 -
facility. “We’re not really sure what happened,” the fire chief said. “Everything they
were doing was just normal procedure. We really haven’t determine exactly how the
ammonia got spilled.” The ammonia ran into the plant’s roof drainage system, and from
there into the storm sewers, which discharge into a small unnamed creek behind the Orr
Cemetery. The spill killed fish and amphibians in the creek and the fire department
informed the Ohio Department of Fish and Wildlife of the incident. The state wildlife
officer for Wayne County said while he saw dead frogs and fish, the spill had a
“minimal impact” on the creek thanks to the fast action of the Orrville Fire Department.
Source: http://www.the-daily-record.com/news/article/4897862
30. September 21, Detroit Lakes Tribune – (Minnesota) Freight train derails in
Mahnomen. A southbound Canadian Pacific freight train partially derailed in the city
of Mahnomen, Minnesota September 20 at 5:30 p.m.. No injuries were reported in the
13-car derailment, which blocked the Highway 200 crossing, according to the
Mahnomen County Sheriff’s Department. Mahnomen Fire Department and Canadian
Pacific emergency responders were on the scene within minutes, and got a scare when a
railcar was found to be leaking a large amount of liquid. It was quickly identified as a
type of vegetable oil, and no cars were found to be carrying hazardous materials. Sand
was hauled in to form a temporary dike to prevent the oil from flowing into a nearby
culvert. The sheriff’s department set up a command center on scene and was being
assisted by the state patrol, the White Earth Police Department, and the Becker County
Sheriff’s Department. Railroad officials also remained on the scene. Firefighters from
Mahnomen and Waubun remained there as well as a precaution.
Source: http://www.dl-online.com/event/article/id/55689/group/homepage/
31. September 20, WestportNow.com – (Connecticut) Tractor-trailer rollover backs up I95 traffic. A tractor-trailer carrying 2,500 pounds of live fish rolled over September 20
on I-95 close to Exit 17 near Westport, Connecticut in the southbound lanes at 6:17
p.m., filling the roadway with flapping fish and snarling traffic for miles in both
directions. The driver of the truck was uninjured, but the almost 4-hour cleanup was
made more difficult by spilled diesel fuel and discovery of a leaking 300-pound oxygen
tank in the wreckage, the assistant fire chief said. In addition to firefighters and state
police, representatives from the departments of transportation, environmental
protection, and consumer protection also responded, he said. Arriving firefighters found
not only the fish, but approximately 10 gallons of diesel fuel from the fuel tank across
all three lanes of the highway. Further inspection found a leaking 300-pound liquid
oxygen tank on its side. Firefighters worked to control the diesel fuel leak and
uprighted the liquid oxygen tank to reduce the volume of the leak, the fire official said.
Representatives of the department of consumer protection condemned the entire load of
fish and had them transported by flatbed for holding until they could be properly
destroyed under the department’s direction.
Source:
http://www.westportnow.com/index.php?/v2/comments/tractor_trailer_rollover_backs_
up_i_95_traffic/
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32. September 20, Eat, Drink and Be – (Texas) Sewage spill likely linked to E. coli
illnesses at Texas pizza restaurant. Texas health officials are investigating an E. coli
outbreak that sickened at least 24 patrons of Fralo’s Art of Pizza in Leon Springs.
Customers of the restaurant began reporting cases of E. coli in mid-August, shortly
after reports that well water was found to be contaminated with the bacteria. The
restaurant temporarily shut down for cleaning and to fix the well and reopened August
23. Officials believe the well contamination may have stemmed from a sewage spill at
the San Antonio Water System, located across the street, during the time of the
outbreak. The sewage spill emptied 400,000 gallons of raw sewage into the ground. E.
coli is typically transferred through ingesting fecal matter, making the spill the primary
suspect for the contamination.
Source: http://eatdrinkandbe.org/article/index.sewage-spill-ecoli-texas-pizza-outbreak011
33. September 19, Yakima Herald-Republic – (Washington) Deadly illness spreading
among bighorn sheep. Washington state wildlife biologists decided to kill dozens of
sick bighorns west of the Yakima River Canyon in the spring of 2010 in hopes of
keeping a pneumonia outbreak from reaching the herd across the river. It did not work.
Roughly two-thirds of the lambs born this spring east of the canyon are believed to
have died. And although biologists have not verified deaths among the adults, hunters
on a special-permit hunt on that side of the river reported seeing adult rams coughing
the week of September 13. Tissue samples from the rams killed by those hunters will
be disease-tested at Washington State University, but the findings are expected to take
weeks. Until then, state Department of Fish and Wildlife biologists only know what
they see. And it does not look good. “Something bad is going on,” said a Yakima-based
state wildlife biologist. “If the lambs are dying, hey, the symptoms are there — the
warning signs are flashing in front of us. Almost without a doubt the bacteria has
jumped the river and is now on the east side.” The initial breakout on the west side of
the canyon began in December, when at least 10 bighorns died from pneumonia, most
of them north of Umtanum Creek.
Source: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2012945302_birds20m.html
[Return to top]
Water Sector
34. September 21, KCTV 5 Kansas City – (Missouri) 13 million gallons of wastewater
dumps into KC creeks. The Kansas City, Missouri, Water Services Department
announced that more than 13 million gallons of wastewater dumped into four Kansas
City Creeks over the weekend. The discharge came at Todd Creek Wastewater plant at
7600 NW 114th St.; Tiffany Lakes Pump Station, NW 108th St.; Birmingham Pump
Station at 11011 Birmingham Road; and First Creek Pump Station at 10990 N.
Wyandotte Ave. Water services officials said the discharge was due to storm-related
issues and mechanical failures. The discharge went into Todd Creek, First Creek, Shoal
Creek and Second Creek watersheds. “More than 5 inches of rain was recorded at our
flood monitoring station at I-35 and Chouteau Trafficway Saturday night, “ said the
- 13 -
acting Water Services director. “This amount of rain and the large electrical storm may
have contributed to the bypasses. Water Services staff will work to identify the issues
that caused these overflows and make any necessary repairs or improvements.” The
release of untreated sewage from sewer systems is called sanitary sewer overflow and
represents a potential threat to public health and the environment. Most ooverflows
occur during wet weather events. The bypasses have been stopped, water services
officials said.
Source: http://www.kctv5.com/news/25097282/detail.html
35. September 20, Water Technology Online – (National) USGS to brief Congress on
phosphorus, nitrogen levels in U.S. water supply. On September 24, the U.S.
Geological Survey (USGS) will hold a congressional briefing on high levels of nitrogen
and phosphorus in U.S. water supplies, according to a press release. A new nationwide
USGS study shows excessive nutrient enrichment is widespread in streams, exceeding
nutrient criteria recommended by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in most
agricultural and urban watersheds. USGS will brief Congress, the media and the public
on nutrient concentrations in U.S. water resources, key sources of nutrients, potential
effects on humans and aquatic life, and changes in concentrations since the early 1990s,
the release stated.
Source: http://watertechonline.com/news.asp?N_ID=74947
36. September 20, Associated Press – (Texas) 1 missing in flooding as rain pounds Texas
coast. More than 7 inches of rain was reported over a 24-hour period through early
September 20 in Texas in Corpus Christi and the Rio Grande Valley. Pressure from
heavy rains on an aging sewer system in Corpus Christi led to more than 100,000
gallons of raw sewage overflowing from a manhole. City officials said the heavy rain
diluted the gushing sewage enough to eliminate any risk of health hazards. Some
residents living near the treatment plant described it differently. Farther out in Nueces
County, residents in the impoverished area were stranded by flooding in their slapdash
communities that lack drainage and other basic infrastructure.
Source:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hg04meIX73hcn9HKfaxZemsJ
B3xgD9IC09NG0
For more stories, see items 8, 29, and 32
[Return to top]
Public Health and Healthcare Sector
37. September 21, Homeland Security Today – (National) Community Flu response plan
cited in study. The real-time local surveillance and response system developed during
the H1N1 flu outbreak last year should be studied as a possible national model for
future epidemics, according to the new study, Response to H1N1 in a US-Mexico
Border Community, published in the journal, Biosecurity and Bioterrorism: Biodefense
Strategy, Practice, and Science. The authors of the study found that “daily data
- 14 -
analyses, including geographical information system mapping of cases and reports of
school and daycare absences, were used for outbreak management,” and that
“aggregate reports of inï¬ uenza-like illness and primary school absences were
accurate in predicting inï¬ uenza activity and were practical for use in local tracking,
making decisions, and targeting interventions. These simple methods,” the authors
stressed, “should be considered for local implementation and for integration into
national recommendations for epidemic preparedness and response” for the future.
Source: http://www.hstoday.us/content/view/14788/149/
38. September 20, WSET 13 Lynchburg – (Virginia) Water main break leaves CVTC
with costly repairs. A broken water main over the weekend has caused a flood of
problems for the Central Virginia Training Center school for students with disabilities
in Madison Heights, Virginia. They had no running water September 19, and
September 20 workers discovered millions of dollars in damage. It will likely take
months to repair things. Officials called the parents of all 400-plus residents to let them
know the water is back on. They also started the process of surveying the massive
destruction, caused by a mudslide. What started as a routine ruptured water main,
turned into a river of mud that flooded a power station. “It’s catastrophic, is the best
way to put it,” the CVTC director of facilities said. The mudslide knocked a hole in the
back of the 75-year-old building. The roof is now sinking in. Three industrial boilers
and other equipment are all coated in mud. “Some of it we know is damaged. Can it be
fixed or replaced? We don’t know until the engineers tell us,” he said.
Source: http://www.wset.com/Global/story.asp?S=13186605
39. September 17, USA TODAY – (International) Drug-resistant ‘superbugs’ hit 35
states, spread worldwide. Bacteria that are able to survive every modern antibiotic are
cropping up in many U.S. hospitals and are spreading outside the country, public health
officials said. The bugs, reported by hospitals in more than 35 states, typically strike the
critically ill and are fatal in 30 percent to 60 percent of cases. Israeli doctors are battling
an outbreak in Tel Aviv that has been traced to a patient from northern New Jersey,
said the director of infection control and epidemiology at the University of
Pennsylvania and president of the Society of Healthcare Epidemiologists. The bacteria
are equipped with a gene that enables them to produce an enzyme that disables
antibiotics. The enzyme is called Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenamase. It disables
carbapenam antibiotics, last-ditch treatments for infections that don’t respond to other
drugs. “We’ve lost our drug of last resort,” he said.
Source: http://www.usatoday.com/yourlife/health/medical/2010-09-171Asuperbug17_ST_N.htm
[Return to top]
Government Facilities Sector
40. September 20, Associated Press – (Texas) Shooter dead after wounding 2 at Fort
Bliss store. A person opened fire September 20 at a convenience store on Fort Bliss in
Texas, injuring two people before being killed by responding officers, the commander
- 15 -
of the West Texas Army post said. An Army official declined to discuss the conditions
of the victims or other details of the shooting. The Army official said the area was
roped off for an FBI investigation, but the sprawling facility next to El Paso never was
under lockdown. An Army official said the shooting was reported about 3 p.m. and
authorities responded in about 3 minutes. He said the post’s emergency notification
system worked well, sending several messages to his cell phone. “Our law enforcement
agents took it upon themselves to react immediately and aggressively, and I think that’s
the main reason why this didn’t escalate further than it is right now,” an Army official
said. The victims were taken to nearby William Beaumont Army Medical Center, said a
post spokesman. An FBI spokesman said the agency was not releasing any details. The
victims were employees at the Army & Air Force Exchange Service, the mayor of El
Paso told the El Paso Times. The service runs merchandise operations for the military,
including fast-food restaurants and convenience stores, according to the service’s Web
site.
Source:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i9DmwYRpOJCoHFnfUt068t6
hlu3QD9IC1NTG0
41. September 20, KPIC 4 Roseburg – (Oregon) Suspicious package brings bomb squad
to downtown Roseburg. Traffic on Douglas Street in Roseburg, Oregon was closed
off for about 2 hours September 20, after a suspicious package was found in front of the
courthouse. A Roseburg police officer noticed the package on a bench by a planter near
the front entrance to the courthouse early in the evening. The officer contacted the
bomb squad, and police closed off Douglas Street until the bomb squad arrived at about
8:30 p.m. The bomb squad X-rayed the box to see if it was an explosive. They couldn’t
tell for sure, so they decided to blow it up with an explosive charge. After the
explosion, they checked the debris and found cell phone accessories, batteries, cords,
and other items, but no cell phone. Police said it did not appear to have gunpowder or
other explosive material. They are not sure not sure who left the package on the bench.
No one was injured.
Source: http://www.kpic.com/news/local/103414659.html
42. September 20, Colorado Springs Gazette – (Colorado) Grass fire, power outage close
Lewis-Palmer Elementary. Lewis-Palmer Elementary School in Monument, Colorado
has been closed for the day, September 20 after a transformer blew, causing a power
outage and sparking a small grass fire. Children who arrived at school or were on the
bus being driven to school were taken to Lewis-Palmer Middle School, which is open,
as a precaution. The transformer blew about 8 a.m. sending sparks flying and igniting a
small grass fire a few hundred feet behind the elementary school at 1315 Lake
Woodmor Drive. Tri-Lakes firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze, which spread to
an area of about 50 feet by 50 feet, said the battalion chief for Tri-Lakes Fire Protection
District. No structures were threatened.
Source: http://www.gazette.com/news/school-104953-lewis-palmer.html
43. September 20, Government Computer News – (National) Agencies slowly making
progress on continuous monitoring. Continuous monitoring for vulnerabilities and
- 16 -
configuration errors in IT systems is an accepted best practice. It is the standard for
agencies in the Federal Information Security Management Act, and is recommended in
the Consensus Audit Guidelines, a set of security priorities developed by government
and industry organizations. The practice has quickly gained traction. But according to a
recent survey, it is still far from universal. “There is both good news and bad news in
the numbers,” said the vice president of strategy at nCircle, a vendor of complianceauditing tools that conducted the survey. The good news is that more than half — 57
percent — of the respondents said they are monitoring networks continuously for
vulnerabilities,and another 13 percent are scanning at least weekly. But only 39 percent
are doing continuous scans for compliance with configuration requirements such as the
Federal Desktop Core Configuration. Again, 13 percent are doing those scans at least
weekly. But 31 percent of respondents are not resolving the problems that the scans
identify. Of those not fixing problems, 44 percent said they don’t have the resources for
the job, but another 29 percent of those not fixing problems — 9 percent of all
respondents — said it is not a management priority.
Source: http://gcn.com/articles/2010/09/20/cybereye-continuous-monitoring.aspx
44. September 17, Nextgov – (National) VA reports 10 missing laptops, likely no
personal data lost. The Veterans Affairs Department discovered 10 laptops were
missing from its inventory in August, an unusually high number of lost computers,
VA’s chief information officer said September 17. The frequency of incidents surprised
the CIO, who disclosed the lost laptops during a regularly scheduled call with reporters
to discuss VA’s mandated monthly reports to Congress on potential data breaches. The
department has been under scrutiny during the past few years after several high-profile
incidents that resulted in the loss of veterans’ personal data. A laptop theft in 2006, for
example, jeopardized the private information of more than 26 million veterans. In May,
the CIO started holding monthly briefings for the press as part of what he said was an
effort to be more transparent about information security at the department. The recent
security breaches, which were reported in August, mostly involved machines that
disappeared from VA’s inventory or before they were loaded with data and
applications, the CIO said. Nevertheless, “We’ll have to go research to determine
whether our security is good enough in those areas” and figure out, “Do we have
anything more than a statistically random amount of them missing, or is something
more going on?” he said.
Source: http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20100917_6367.php?oref=topstory
For another story, see item 16
[Return to top]
Emergency Services Sector
45. September 21, Indianapolis Star – (Indiana) Fire set at home of policeman was arson,
officials say. A fire discovered September 20 at the Far-Southside home of an
Indianapolis, Indiana police officer was intentionally set, investigators said. Around
1:15 a.m., authorities said, someone set fire to the back porch area of the home
- 17 -
occupied by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) officer, his wife
and their two children, ages 2 and 7. The blaze quickly gutted the house and a backyard
pool, leaving the family homeless and causing $100,000 in damage. IMPD and
Indianapolis Fire Department investigators did not specify a motive or why they
believe it was arson. They would not comment on reports that an incendiary device was
used. The crime stunned neighbors in the tree-lined, neighborhood of brick homes.
Neighbors were uncertain whether it was a random act of violence or a case of someone
targeting a police officer.
Source: http://www.indystar.com/article/20100921/LOCAL1801/9210332/Fire-set-athome-of-policeman-was-arson-officials-say?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|IndyStar.com
46. September 21, Barre Montpelier Times Argus – (Vermont) Weekend disaster exercise
will include demolition of Barre building. For years the dilapidated green house
located just across the Barre, Vermont line beyond Hope Cemetery has been described
as an accident waiting to happen. This week it will literally live up to its reputation as
part of what is being described as “the largest emergency preparedness exercise in
Vermont history.” The long-abandoned “Dufresne House” will be leveled this week in
preparation for a statewide “catastrophic exercise” that has been a year in the planning.
The old house is just one part of the scenarios that will face more than 750 emergency
responders during an exercise that will be played out continuously for 30 straight hours
starting early September 24 and wrapping up September 25. Precisely what will
happen, when and where, is mostly a closely held secret. The exercise, which is being
run under the auspices of DHS has targeted some two dozen locations throughout
Vermont, including communities like Barre, Berlin, Waterbury, St. Johnsbury,
Burlington and Jericho. The exercise will simulate a massive natural disaster
devastating the state, according to officials. Responders will be asked to deal with “â ¦
mass casualties, tens of thousands of power outages, extensive damage, including
thousands of downed trees, flooding, and the aftermath of these events.”
Source:
http://www.timesargus.com/article/20100921/NEWS01/709219907/1003/NEWS02
[Return to top]
Information Technology Sector
47. September 21, BBC – (International) Twitter flaw pumps out spam links. A flaw in
the Web site of micro-blogging service Twitter is being used to pump out pop-up
messages and links to porn sites. Users only have to move their mouse over the link —
not click it — to open it in the browser. Thousands of Twitter accounts have so far
posted messages exploiting the flaw including the wife of the United Kingdom’s
former prime minister. The malicious links look like a random URL and contain the
code “onmouseover”. This command — written in a programming language called
Javascript — automatically directs users to another Web site, some of which contain
pornography. “There is no legitimate reason to tweet Javascript,” a researcher at
security firm Sophos, told BBC News. He said that it looked like the initial
vulnerability was exploited as a prank by users, but was now being spread by a worm, a
- 18 -
self-replicating and malicious piece of code. Until the flaw is fixed, users should use a
third-party Twitter client — such as TweetDeck — rather than the Twitter.com Web
site, he advised.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11382469
48. September 20, IDG News Service – (International) Germans flood Google with Street
View opt-out requests. Google has received an increased number of requests from
Germans who want to omit their properties from its Street View imagery program. The
German publication Der Spiegel reported September 18 that the requests number
several hundred thousand. “As expected, due to the wide media coverage and our own
information campaign the number of letters we have received has increased in recent
weeks,” according to Google. “Our first priority is to verify and process all the genuine
applications. At this stage it is therefore not possible to give an accurate number of optouts.” In August, Google launched a special program for Germans that allowed people
in certain cities to request their properties be blocked from appearing on Street View,
due to go live in 20 cities later this year. People can use an online tool or write an email or letter. Google extended the program from September 15 to October 15. People
in other countries can request that their properties be blocked from Street View, but that
action is taken after the images have publicly appeared in Street View. The increased
attention to Street View comes as Google and other online companies attended a highlevel summit in Berlin September 20, concerning privacy issues such as geo-location
services, online mapping and data protection issues.
Source:
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9186719/Germans_flood_Google_with_Street
_View_opt_out_requests
49. September 20, Help Net Security – (International) Fake ‘universal’ iPhone
jailbreaking exploit contains Trojan. When Apple released iOS 4.0.2 which, among
other things, patched the vulnerabilities that allowed iPhone owners to jailbreak their
device, these users were faced with the question “To upgrade or not to upgrade?” But,
buyers of iPhones with iOS 4.0.2 or 4.1 already preinstalled didn’t have that choice —
and they still don’t. And even though a hacker announced he was working on an exploit
that will change this and will allow users to jailbreak any existing or future iPhone or
iPad (regardless of the iOS version), this exploit has yet to see the light of day. Aware
that the jaibreaking community is eagerly waiting for the solution to come out,
miscreants thought of trying to use the hype to push some of their malicious wares.
According to a Kaspersky Lab expert, the awaited exploit will be called
“Greenpois0n,” so they named the .rar archive that contains the information-stealing
Trojan greenpois0n_By pOsixninja and made it available for download on popular
torrent sites. Web sites selling fake tools that can supposedly jailbreak any iPhone with
any iOS have also appeared. Selling these tools for a price that goes up to $40, they are
also trying to capitalize on the users’ lack of patience.
Source: http://www.net-security.org/malware_news.php?id=1468
50. September 19, PC Advisor – (International) Facebook ‘clickjacking’ awareness
campaign launched. Security firm AVG has launched an online campaign to help
- 19 -
university students combat Facebook status jacking. According to AVG, students are
the group most at risk of having their status jacked on social networking sites such as
Facebook. The security firm’s claims are backed up by figures from Ofcom, which
revealed that just 15 percent of Web users aged 16 to 24 take Internet security
seriously. Furthermore, just 9 percent are concerned about security. Research by AVG
revealed there are 19,491 malicious pages across the world’s 50 most popular socialnetworking sites. More than half, 11,701, of these appeared on Facebook, while videosharing site YouTube has 7,163 of the compromised pages. AVG hopes to educate
students about the dangers of going onto social networks using unprotected
connections, and of the need to always log out of sites properly. Two videos about
status jacking, featuring a comedienne and offering advice on securing social media
profiles, are among the materials that will be released over the course of the campaign.
Source: http://www.pcworld.com/article/205656/
For another story, see item 20
Internet Alert Dashboard
To report cyber infrastructure incidents or to request information, please contact US-CERT at sos@us-cert.gov or
visit their Web site: http://www.us-cert.gov
Information on IT information sharing and analysis can be found at the IT ISAC (Information Sharing and
Analysis Center) Web site: https://www.it-isac.org
[Return to top]
Communications Sector
51. September 21, Milford Daily News – (Massachusetts) Two copper thefts investigated
in Milford. Police are investigating the thefts of copper from a Pine Street church and a
Verizon substation in Milford, Massachusetts, sometime September 19. The police
chief said someone stole $1,800 worth of the metal from the First Unitarian
Universalist Church at 23 Pine St. An officer responded to the church at 12:20 p.m.
September 20, when a church employee told him a copper downspout was removed
from the back of the building. In his report, the officer said the copper was about 16
feet long. The employee said he noticed September 19 a different downspout had been
tampered with, but not taken. Older buildings are targets for such theft. Another officer
responded to the Verizon tower at 2:27 p.m. September 20 after an employee called
police to report the theft. The employee said somebody cut the lock to the gate door and
entered the facility sometime during the week of September 13. He said employees
have reported five or six different incidents of theft over the last few weeks, and that
police are looking for trucks that might be leaving the tower area. The investigation
remains open.
Source: http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/x1680536952/Two-copper-theftsinvestigated-in-Milford
- 20 -
52. September 20, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel – (Wisconsin) Milwaukee area cable
service restored after outage. Time Warner Cable customers in the greater
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, area were without cable television service September 20 after a
fiber cable was accidentally cut, a Time Warner Cable spokeswoman said. The outage
began at 10:30 a.m. but was repaired just after noon. The cable was cut by a third party,
she said, possibly by a construction company. The area affected went as far north as
Mequon and as far south as Oak Creek and west into Waukesha County, Wisconsin.
The affected area represented half of the Time Warner Cable customers in the state,
though the spokeswoman did not say how many households were affected. While cable
television service was out, telephone and Road Runner Internet service were not
affected.
Source: http://www.tradingmarkets.com/news/stock-alert/twc_brief-milwaukee-areacable-service-restored-after-outage-1179787.html
53. September 20, InformationWeek – (National) NIST research could boost mobile
device security. Particle physics could be the key to creating a new generation of
wireless technology that would be more secure and resistant to interference than current
methods, according to the National Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST). The
research could pave the way for federal agencies like the U.S. military to create
wireless devices with signals that would be difficult for enemies to intercept or
scramble. If NIST research and analysis is correct, it may be possible to create an
oscillator that could leverage the spin of electrons to generate microwaves for use in
mobile devices. The effect of this process could be used to create a cell-phone oscillator
that enables the frequency of the devices to be changed very quickly. This would make
the signals from the devices very hard for enemies to intercept or jam, making them
optimal for use by the military or other defense or intelligence agencies, according to
NIST.
Source:
http://www.informationweek.com/news/government/security/showArticle.jhtml?article
ID=227500277
54. September 20, Washington Post – (National) Schools could get an Internet speed
boost under FCC proposal. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is set to
reform an annual $2 billion E-Rate fund, aimed to bring faster and more affordable
Internet connections to schools and libraries. The program has doled out more than $22
billion since it was launched in 1998, helping to bring Internet connections to nearly all
classrooms in America. But the connections have been slow and costly, and the
Government Accountabilty Office said in 2009 the FCC had not set clear goals for ERate. In an order set for a vote September 23, the FCC chairman will propose that
schools and libraries tap into unused fiber networks in towns and cities. Known as
“dark fiber,” those unused lines can help lift average connection speeds inside and
outside classrooms.
Source:
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/posttech/2010/09/schools_could_get_an_internet.htm
l
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[Return to top]
Commercial Facilities Sector
55. September 21, Associated Press – (Illinois) FBI says it supplied fake bomb in
Chicago plot. A man arrested for allegedly placing a backpack he thought contained a
bomb near Chicago’s Wrigley Field baseball stadium got the fake explosive from an
FBI undercover agent, authorities said — a tactic that has been used in other U.S.
terrorism cases in recent years. The Lebanese citizen living in Chicago for about 3
years was charged September 20 with one count each of attempted use of a weapon of
mass destruction and attempted use of an explosive device. He was arrested September
19 after planting the fake explosive device in a trash receptacle near Sluggers World
Class Sports Bar, a popular bar steps from Wrigley Field, an FBI Special Agent said.
The Cubs were not playing at their home field; the stadium hosted Dave Matthews
Band concerts that weekend.
Source: http://www.wyff4.com/r/25088156/detail.html
56. September 21, Wyoming Tribune Eagle – (Wyoming) Arson blamed for hotel
fire. The fire that destroyed the historic Hitching Post Inn recently in Cheyenne,
Wyoming, was intentionally set, authorities said. Cheyenne Fire and Rescue responded
September 15 to the hotel to find flames spurting through the roof of the front lobby. It
burned throughout the night and was deemed under control the next morning. On
September 20, a special agent in charge said the investigation and examination of the
crime scene concluded September 19. However, the local office of the federal Bureau
of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives will work with Cheyenne fire and police
investigators to track down suspects. JM Hospitality bought the property from New
Jersey-based Mantiff Cheyenne Hospitality in June in the wake of Mantiff filing for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February. The 10.82 acre property was appraised
for more than $6 million January 1. CJM Hospitality officials said they were putting in
$500,000 worth of renovations. They said they had planned to reopen the west side of
the building and two unattached structures in coming weeks.
Source: http://www.wyomingnews.com/articles/2010/09/21/news/01top_09-21-10.txt
57. September 20, Federal Bureau of Investigation – (Illinois) Chicago man arrested in
attempted bombing plot. A 22-year-old Chicago man was arrested September 19,
immediately after placing a backpack which he thought contained an explosive device
into a curbside trash receptacle near a crowded North Side street corner. The arrest
followed an investigation that accelerated in June of this year. He was charged in a
criminal complaint filed September 20 with one count each of attempted use of a
weapon of mass destruction and attempted use of an explosive device. The supposed
explosive device was inert and provided to him by an undercover agent. Throughout
the summer, the suspect allegedly discussed with an associate a number of possible
targets and plots, including a biological attack on the city, poisoning Lake Michigan,
attacking police officers, bombing the Sears (Willis) Tower, and assassinating the
mayor. Eventually, the suspect is alleged to have selected the Wrigleyville area of
Chicago as his target, utilizing an explosive device which he would detonate on a
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weekend night to inflict maximum damage. He eventually settled on a bombing outside
a crowded Wrigleyville nightclub as the first step in his plan.
Source: http://chicago.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel10/cg092010.htm
For another story, see item 40
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National Monuments and Icons Sector
58. September 21, Associated Press – (Wyoming) Yellowstone, Laramie wildfires
growing. Three significant wildfires are burning in Wyoming, including a lightningcaused wildfire in Yellowstone National Park. The second fire is outside Laramine and
a third is east of Evanston. The Yellowstone fire, which was reported September 14,
was 5 percent contained September 20, growing to 1,600 acres, or nearly 2.5 square
miles. The Laramie-area fire covered about 1,200 acres, or about 2 square miles, and
the Evanston fire burned about 6,000 acres, or nearly 10 square miles. A Bureau of
Land Management spokeswoman said the fire about 5 miles east of Evanston was not
threatening structures and there are no reports of any effect on traffic on Interstate 80.
Source: http://www.kulr8.com/news/wyoming/103404139.html
59. September 21, Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry – (Louisiana)
Bossier-Webster fire burns 258 acres. The Louisiana Department of Agriculture and
Forestry (LDAF) commissioner said a Louisiana Department of Agriculture and
Forestry District One wildland firefighter received minor injuries September 19
combating a 258-acre wildland fire in Webster and Bossier parishes. The employee was
treated at a local hospital emergency room for minor burns and was back at work
September 20. District One is based in Haughton. The fire is suspected to have been
caused by an outdoor trash fire in Webster Parish that spread out of control, LDAF
forestry investigators said. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. The fire
eventually consumed 258-acres of a 10-year-old pine plantation. Thirteen LDAF
personnel operating one fire-detecting aircraft and four tractor-plow units responded to
the emergency call about 12:10 p.m. LDAF crews contained the fire 9 hours later.
Since the beginning of the year, 1,396 fires have burned more than 13,524 acres of
wildland, LDAF Forestry statistics show.
Source: http://www.nbc33tv.com/news/bossier-webster-fire-burns-258-acres
60. September 20, San Luis Obispo Tribune – (California) Structures threatened as small
fire burns toward Los Padres forest. Firefighters, three helicopters, three bulldozers,
and other resources were sent September 20 to fight a small blaze first reported at 2:55
p.m. on the edge of the Los Padres National Forest in California. The fire did not start
in the forest but was moving in that direction, heading southeast, said a Los Padres
National Forest spokesman. The blaze, which is currently about 1 acre, started at Upper
Lopez Canyon Road and Waters End. Several structures were threatened, but it was not
immediately known if they were homes or outbuildings, the spokesman said.
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Source: http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2010/09/20/1296355/structures-threatened-assmall.html
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Dams Sector
61. September 21, Associated Press – (Iowa) Iowa DNR says Shell Rock River dam
failing. Officials with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) said the dam
on the Shell Rock River near Rockford is failing and needs to be removed or repaired
as soon as possible. The DNR sent a letter to the Floyd County Conservation director
telling him of the problems with the dam. Last month, the National Weather Service
warned of a potential break in the dam and Floyd County officials said water was
undercutting the structure. He said county officials are reviewing the DNR report to
determine their next step. The 7-foot dam was built in 1872 to power a grist mill on the
Shell Rock River. Part of the dam is publicly owned. The remainder is owned privately
and was repaired in 2004.
Source: http://qctimes.com/news/state-and-regional/iowa/article_f060eb12-cadb-555aadc9-6e2eb6539c9e.html
62. September 20, KCCI 8 Des Moines – (Iowa) Iowa company to rebuild important
levee. Reilly Construction Co. of Ossian, Iowa, has won a contract from the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers to build a levee in Des Moines that protects 110 businesses.
Officials with the Army Corps said construction will not be able to go forward for at
least 1 month because the company needs to arrange insurance and bonds and submit
safety plans and schedules. Construction should finish by the end of 2011. The Des
Moines Register reports that the Central Place levee was damaged during historic 1993
flooding. The project to replace the levee will cost about $7.5 million. The project is to
receive a $2.1 million I-JOBS grant.
Source: http://www.kcci.com/news/25086563/detail.html
63. September 18, Associated Press – (Oregon) Spillway flaw may affect S. Ore. flood
control. A design flaw discovered this summer in spillway gates used only once in 33
years at Lost Creek Dam in southern Oregon may affect flood control in 2011. The
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has altered plans for managing reservoir levels until the
flaws can be fixed. Corps engineers said September 17 that support mechanisms used
when operating the gates pose a slight risk of failure during the worst flooding, possibly
triggering unrestricted flows through the spillway. The Rogue basin operations
manager for the Corps said the only time it has relied on those gates in their 33-year
history was during the New Year’s flood of 1997, and they operated properly at that
time. “If it were built to the current standards, it wouldn’t be built that way today,” he
said. “In today’s environment, it would have been designed differently.” Lost Creek
Dam was completed in 1977. Its Rogue Basin sister, Applegate Dam, which was built
in 1980, has a different gate-operation system and was recently rated as safe. Similar
flaws exist on spillway gates at 1940s and ‘50s-era dams the Corps operates throughout
the Willamette Valley. Repair work has begun at the Dexter Dam near Lowell. Plans
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for Lost Creek are now to keep the lake’s surface level 12 feet lower than full so the
flawed gates don’t come into play. But officials said that will reduce the lake’s floodcontrol capacity and likely mean longer and higher-volume releases into the Rogue
River during winter storms. Left closed, officials said the gates pose no immediate
danger to downstream residents, and they will not restrict the ability to fill the reservoir
each spring. Fixing all three gates would cost about $7.5 million, and no money has
been appropriated for repairs. The manager expects it to take “at least the next few
years” before the work can be completed.
Source: http://www.democratherald.com/news/state-and-regional/article_e21a90f9b000-5cf9-bf4a-26a10bc75b5f.html
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DHS Daily Open Source Infrastructure Report Contact Information
About the reports - The DHS Daily Open Source Infrastructure Report is a daily [Monday through Friday]
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