Current Nationwide
Threat Level
Homeland
Security
ELEVATED
Daily Open Source Infrastructure
Report for 4 June 2009
Significant Risk of Terrorist Attacks
For information, click here:
http://www.dhs.gov
Top Stories

According to the Columbus Dispatch, federal and local investigators say an arsonist set a
fire that caused an estimated $5 million to $10 million in damage last week to a
manufacturing plant in Hilliard, Ohio. The facility housed HighCom Security and Wolfden
Products. (See item 10)

IDG News Service reports that as many as 40,000 Web sites have been hacked to redirect
unwitting victims to another Web site that tries to infect PCs with malicious software,
according to security vendor Websense. (See item 35)
Fast Jump Menu
PRODUCTION INDUSTRIES
● Energy
● Chemical
● Nuclear Reactors, Materials and Waste
● Critical Manufacturing
● Defense Industrial Base
● Dams Sector
SERVICE INDUSTRIES
● Banking and Finance
● Transportation
● Postal and Shipping
● Information Technology
● Communications
● Commercial Facilities
SUSTENANCE AND HEALTH
● Agriculture and Food
FEDERAL AND STATE
● Government Facilities
●
Water Sector
●
Emergency Services
●
Public Health and Healthcare
●
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. June 3, Reuters – (International) Shell extends Bonny Light & Forcados force
majeures. Royal Dutch Shell said on Wednesday its Nigerian joint venture had
extended force majeures on Bonny Light and Forcados crude to include oil exports for
June. A Shell spokesman from The Hague said the extension came following a revision
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to a pipeline repair schedule due to the security situation in the area.
Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssEnergyNews/idUSL3103434520090603
2. June 2, Reuters – (Wisconsin) Murphy restarting WI refinery after power failure.
Oil Co is restarting its 35,000-barrel-per-day Superior, Wisconsin, refinery after a power
outage the morning of June 2, a spokesman said. The refinery was hit with a brief power
outage lasting about 30 minutes, a spokesman said. He said he could not provide a
timeline for the refinery’s return to full rates but said with the restart under way, it
should be “not before long.”
Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssEnergyNews/idUSN0251538820090602
3. June 1, The Register – (Texas) Feds quiz former worker over Texas power plant
hack. A former employee at a Texas power utility was arrested late last week over
accusations he crippled its energy forecast system after launching a hacking attack. FBI
agents made the arrest on May 28 after raiding the home of a former worker at Energy
Future Holdings (EFH). EFH owns three Texas electricity generating outfits that run
facilities including the Comanche Peak nuclear power plant. The worker was dismissed
back in March over allegations he failed to pull his weight at work. Hours after the nonotice sacking, the worker’s VPN access account (which was left active) was allegedly
used to log into the corporate intranet before modifying and deleting files. Proprietary
company information was also transferred to a personal webmail account linked to the
worker, investigators further allege. Emails sent to engineers at the Comanche Peak
nuclear reactor during this hack questioned the safety of the reactor if the load were to
be “increased to 99.7 percent of capacity.” The worker’s role included controlling the
management of EFH power generation facilities, including the Comanche Peak reactor.
He faces accusations that the hacking attack he allegedly carried out created a threat to
public health or safety. However, charges detailed so far only involve less serious
charges that his actions crippled an energy forecast system for a day back on 4 March,
specifically an Excel file, leaving EFH unable to sell excess capacity and resulting in
losses of $26,000. This type of an attack would not lead to an outage much less imperil
plant safety, a control system security expert told Wired. “The people in Texas aren’t
going to see their lights flicker as a result of this. This is an economic issue,” the expert
said.
Source: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/06/01/texas_power_plant_hack
[Return to top]
Chemical Industry Sector
4. June 3, Door County Advocate – (Wisconsin) Cause of chemical spill identified. A nail
from a pallet punctured a 15-gallon drum of hydrochloric acid during transit, causing a
chemical spill that shut down seven businesses in Sturgeon Bay’s industrial park May
28. The acid reacted to chemicals previously spilled on the wooden floor of the
semitrailer, said the Sturgeon Bay fire chief, causing the plume of smoke when the semi
door was opened. The truck was sealed when a driver from Premier Trucking,
Bridgeview, Illinois, picked up the shipment of pool chemicals from Champion
Packaging in Woodridge, Illinois, and delivered them to the wholesaler, Warner-Wexel
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LLC on Jib Street in Sturgeon Bay. The driver was not aware of the spill until opening
the back door of the semi to unload. The truck was carrying large quantities of both
hypochlorite solution and hydrochloric acid that can be deadly when mixed. The
incident resolved with no injuries. The scene was cleared later that afternoon with the
help of hazardous materials specialists from Veolia.
Source:
http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20090603/ADV01/906030447&located=R
SS
5. June 2, Greenwich Time – (Connecticut) Greenwich public safety officials conduct
hazmat drills. The town of Greenwich held its first full-scale hazardous materials
training on June 2. In the drill, a truck filled with dangerous chemicals stopped near the
Greenwich Civic Center, and one man was knocked unconscious by powerful white
smoke that began filling the area, prompting a combined response from fire, GEMS and
police. “This gave us the opportunity to test the inter-agency operations,” said the
deputy chief, a 13-year veteran of the fire department who oversees the department’s
hazardous materials team. “It also put to the test the new civilian dispatch center. They
threw us a couple of curve balls, but I thought it went well.” He supervised the drill,
directing the various public safety agencies on how to respond during the scenario,
which involved rescuing two of the truck’s passengers and stabilizing the vehicle full of
dangerous chemicals, that if combined, could become combustible. Suited up in the
most protective hazmat suits available, several firefighters pretended to handle
extremely lethal chemicals, while GEMS and police protected the scene and aided the
fire department. The drill, being re-enacted four times the week of June 1, was
conducted by the Massapequa, New York-based Safety Consulting Group led by a New
York City firefighter and hazmat specialist. Each department had several of its own
vehicles at the scene, and the truck used in the drill was donated for the week by the Cos
Cob moving company Callahan Brothers Inc.
Source: http://www.greenwichtime.com/ci_12505383?source=most_viewed
[Return to top]
Nuclear Reactors, Materials, and Waste Sector
6. June 3, Midland Reporter-Telegram – (Texas; National) Waste Control Specialists to
begin storing waste from Tennessee company. Waste Control Specialists LLC (WCS)
said on June 2 that it will begin storing low-level radioactive waste from Studsvik Inc.,
an Erwin, Tennessee-based waste processor. Interim storage at WCS’ facility in
Andrews County, Texas of this thermally processed Class B and Class C low-level
radioactive waste will greatly reduce the risk and administrative burden of generators
when compared to the use of multiple storage facilities across the United States, a news
release said. “Studsvik provides a valuable national service because its process
transforms the low-level radioactive waste into a safer form for storage and ultimate
disposal. At the same time, Studsvik’s processing reduces the volume of low-level
radioactive waste by more than 80 percent, which allows for the efficient use of valuable
landfill space,” the WCS president said. “WCS is proud to participate in this innovative
program to increase the safety and to reduce the volume of low-level radioactive waste.”
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Waste Control is still awaiting a permanent waste disposal license from the Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality. While the interim storage of the Studsvik
material is authorized under WCS’ storage license, the Texas Low-Level Radioactive
Waste Compact Commission must approve any permanent disposal of the material at the
Compact waste disposal facility in Andrews, the release said.
Source:
http://www.mywesttexas.com/articles/2009/06/03/news/top_stories/waste_control_acce
pting_waste.txt
7. June 3, Knoxville News Sentinel – (Tennessee) Officials say no radioactive material
spilled. A spokesman with the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA)
said Tuesday there was no spill of radioactive material at the Yellow Freight Roadway
trucking terminal in West Knoxville, although he said the shielded sources of
radioactive cobalt-60 did come loose from their transportation crate. He emphasized
there was never a threat to public health or workers. There were various reports about
radiation levels at the scene, but the TEMA spokesman and a spokeswoman for the
Tennessee Division of Radiological Health both said Tuesday radiation levels never
exceeded shipping standards set by the U.S. Department of Transportation. The incident
occurred Monday night. Berthold Technologies, a German company with U.S.
headquarters in Oak Ridge, was shipping several of the radioactive sources to a
customer in the Midwest, according to the business unit manager in Oak Ridge. The
manager said the radioactive cobalt pellets are contained in multiple layers of steel and
lead shielding. Each of the basketball-sized containers weighs about 200 pounds. The
TEMA spokesman said the containers were repackaged Tuesday in their carrier, and the
shipment was allowed to continue. The spokeswoman for the Tennessee Division of
Radiological Health said the state will evaluate the incident in conjunction with the U.S.
Department of Transportation to determine if there were any violations. Berthold
Technologies is licensed by the Tennessee Division of Radiological Health.
Source: http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2009/jun/03/officials-say-no-radioactivematerial-spilled/
For more stories, see items 3 and 11
[Return to top]
Critical Manufacturing Sector
8. June 2, Associated Press – (Georgia) Chemical fire at plant forces evacuation.
Gwinnett County officials say a chemical fire in Norcross forced the evacuation of
several businesses. The county fire captain says the fire broke out shortly after 1 p.m. on
June 2 at Suniva, which makes solar cells. He says firefighters and members of a
hazardous materials team decided to allow the chemicals to burn off. He says a half-mile
evacuation zone was established, but a nearby apartment complex did not have to be
evacuated.
Source: http://www.wmbfnews.com/Global/story.asp?S=10467205&nav=menu675_2
9. June 1, Georgetown News-Graphic – (Kentucky) Fire at Toyota damaged wastewater
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building. An early morning fire at Toyota Motor Manufacturing (TMMK) caused no
injuries and did not interrupt the company’s production schedule. A spokesman for
TMMK said the fire is suspected to have began in a sludge dryer at the wastewater
building near Gate 4. The dryer is used as part of the overall waste management process.
Georgetown Fire Department responded to the call along with TMMK’s fire department.
The fire was completely extinguished by late morning. The extent of damage or exact
cause is not known.
Source:
http://www.georgetownnews.com/articles/2009/06/01/breaking_news/doc4a23f762ddffa
783039636.txt
For another story, see item 10
[Return to top]
Defense Industrial Base Sector
10. June 2, Columbus Dispatch – (Ohio) Investigators: Hilliard fire was arson. Federal
and local investigators say an arsonist set a fire that caused an estimated $5 million to
$10 million in damage last week to a manufacturing plant in Hilliard. A spokeswoman
for HighCom Security, which provides body armor and other equipment for police and
the military, said her company’s portion of the facility had only been running for about a
year, as its first manufacturing plant. The building also housed Wolfden Products, which
makes fiber composites for military, automotive and industrial uses. State fire marshal
investigators had called in the national response team of the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to help inspect the 75,000-square-foot building.
Source:
http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2009/06/02/arson.ht
ml?sid=101
11. June 2, New York Times – (National) U.S. accidentally releases list of nuclear sites.
The federal government mistakenly made public a 266-page report, its pages marked
“highly confidential,” that gives detailed information about hundreds of the nation’s
civilian nuclear sites and programs, including maps showing the precise locations of
stockpiles of fuel for nuclear weapons. The publication of the document was revealed on
June 1 in an online newsletter devoted to issues of federal secrecy. That set off a debate
among nuclear experts about what dangers, if any, the disclosures posed. It also
prompted a flurry of investigations in Washington into why the document had been
made public. Several nuclear experts argued that any dangers from the disclosure were
minimal, given that the general outlines of the most sensitive information were already
known publicly. The information, considered confidential but not classified, was
assembled for transmission later this year to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The report details the locations of hundreds of nuclear sites and activities. Each page is
marked across the top “Highly Confidential Safeguards Sensitive” in capital letters, with
the exception of pages that detailed additional information like site maps. The report
lists many particulars about nuclear programs and facilities at the nation’s three nuclear
weapons laboratories — Los Alamos, Livermore and Sandia — as well as dozens of
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other federal and private nuclear sites. One of the most serious disclosures appears to
center on the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, which houses the Y-12
National Security Complex. The report lists “Tube Vault 16, East Storage Array,” as a
prospective site for nuclear inspection. It said the site, in Building 9720-5, contains
highly enriched uranium for “long-term storage.” An attached map shows the exact
location of Tube Vault 16 along a hallway and its orientation in relation to geographic
north, although not its location in the Y-12 complex.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/03/us/03nuke.html?ref=global-home
[Return to top]
Banking and Finance Sector
12. June 2, Wall Street Journal – (National) FBI director anticipates new crime wave of
financial fraud. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is braced for a potential crime
wave involving fraud and corruption related to bank bailout money and the economic
stimulus package, the FBI director warned on June 2. “These funds are inherently
vulnerable to bribery, fraud, conflicts of interest and collusion. There is an old adage,
that where there is money to be made, fraud is not far behind, like bees to honey,” the
director told an afternoon gathering of business executives. Given the trillions and
trillions of dollars involved in the government’s current moves to stem the economic
crisis, “from the purchase of troubled assets to improvements in infrastructure, health
care, energy and education, even a small percentage of fraud would result in substantial
taxpayer losses,” said the director.
Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20090602-716656.html
13. June 2, Bozeman Daily Chronicle – (Montana) Scam claims to be First Interstate
Bank. Several Bozeman-area residents have reported receiving automated telephone
calls from a company fraudulently representing itself as First Interstate Bank and asking
them to provide their credit or bank card information. In the message, the company tells
the resident that the security of their card has been compromised. The resident is then
asked to supply their card number and personal identification number so that a new card
can be issued. “If you receive one of these calls, do not give any information and do not
return any phone calls,” states a scam alert issued on June 2 by the Bozeman Police
Department. Local law enforcement officials are asking people who receive the
fraudulent calls to contact police and their bank to verify if it needs any information.
First Interstate Bank is aware of the scam and advises that they would not solicit any
personal information via the telephone, Internet or e-mail.
Source: http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/articles/2009/06/03/news/50scam.txt
14. June 2, Associated Press – (National) Indictment: Colo scam raked in $10M from 15
states. Two men are accused of running a $10 million Ponzi scheme based in Colorado
that bilked investors from 15 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The defendants are
accused of talking dozens of people into investing in a scheme to buy and resell
electronics and appliances. An indictment handed up on May 29 and made public on
June 2 charges the defendants with counts of theft and securities fraud. The indictment
lists victims in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia,
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Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas,
Washington and Wisconsin and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The indictment alleges one of
the defendants claimed to have a rare and valuable master purchase agreement with a
major electronics manufacturer that would allow his company, Genius Inc., to buy in
bulk for wholesale resale. No such agreement existed, and money from investors was
used for personal expenses, gambling and payouts to other investors, according to the
indictment. An investigation concluded only $100,000 was spent on electronics and
appliance purchases from June 2005 to February 2008, during which millions were
raised.
Source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgibin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/06/02/financial/f075450D92.DTL&type=business
15. June 2, U.S. Banker – (National) FDIC setting up Committee on Community
Banking. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.’s board of directors voted last week to
create the FDIC Advisory Committee on Community Banking. Calling community
banks the “lifeblood of our nation’s financial system,” the FDIC chairman said the
committee “will get direct and frequent input on many issues from a cross-section of
community bankers nationwide.” The chairman of the Independent Community Bankers
of America and president and chief executive officer of Easton Bank praised the creation
of the committee. In a public statement on May 29 he said the group will offer advice on
issues such as the “latest examination policies and procedures, deposit insurance
assessments and regulatory compliance matters.” Insurance coverage and credit and
lending practices will also be on the agenda. Another topic on the table may well be
consolidation, as the FDIC and the industry continue to face the highest level of bank
failures in decades, although that prospect was not addressed by either party. “Across
the U.S. right now there are still a fair number of community and regional banks with
significant problems,” says a partner in Bryan Cave’s Atlanta office and a member of
the law firm’s financial institutions team.
Source: http://www.americanbanker.com/usb_article.html?id=20090602HP4UJM1U
[Return to top]
Transportation Sector
16. June 3, Associated Press – (International) Air France: False bomb threat in Buenos
Aires. An Air France spokesman says the airline received a bomb threat for a flight
from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Paris on May 27, but that warning proved to be false.
A spokesman June 1 that an Air France agency in Buenos Aires received an anonymous
phone call threatening Flight 415. He said the plane, a Boeing 777, was checked by
security services who found no explosive devices and the plane was allowed to leave the
Argentine capital. France’s defense minister said “we have no signs so far” of terrorism
regarding the Airbus A330 plane flown by Air France that disappeared May 31 after
leaving Rio de Janeiro for Paris. He said all hypotheses must be studied. A Pentagon
official also said there was no indication of terrorism.
Source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j8pDGy-kO3v1m6ZGkCD_J94us6QD98J980O1
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17. June 2, Associated Press – (California) Flight leaves LA after nearly 3-day delay. A
China Eastern Airlines flight to Shanghai finally left Los Angeles International Airport
on June 2 after a delay of nearly three days that stranded 279 passengers, officials said.
The flight aboard an Airbus 340-600 was scheduled to leave May 31, but was canceled
after the pilot saw a light come on indicating a problem with the nose landing gear, said
a manager of the airline’s local office. Passengers told the Los Angeles Times they were
on the plane for several hours before the pilot canceled the flight. They said they reboarded on June 1 and sat inside for an hour on the tarmac before being told to get off
again. The manager said it took some time for mechanics to diagnose the problem, and
they thought they had resolved the issue on June 1. The plane had pushed back from the
gate when the light came on again, forcing the pilot to cancel a second time. They found
they needed more time to find a rare part to fix the warning light. “We couldn’t locate
the part anywhere in the U.S.,” he said. “Usually carriers don’t have this as a spare part.”
On June 2, the airline flew in a mechanic and the part from Shanghai. “Safety is of
utmost importance, we don’t make any compromises on that issue,” he said.
Source: http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_12507453
18. June 2, WSFB 3 Hartford – (New York) Train service resumes after investigation.
The Rye Rail Station on the New Haven line was closed at noon June 2 while officials
investigated a suspicious package. Metro North officials said a suspicious package was
found on a platform just before 11 p.m. at the station in Rye, New York Metro North
shut down the entire line from Manhattan to New Haven, holding all of the trains at
Grand Central Station. “We left Grand Central, stopped at New Rochelle, and they made
an announcement saying there was going to be a delay,” a rider said. The package ended
up being a torque converter, which is an engine part from an automobile transmission,
police said. Metro North said it did not belong to any of its crews. They said they are
investigating who left it there and why. Members of the bomb squad were called to the
station.
Source: http://www.wfsb.com/travelgetaways/19633468/detail.html
19. June 2, Charlotte Observer – (North Carolina) Planes on Charlotte runway nearly
collide. A Charlotte air traffic controller is under scrutiny after two planes nearly
collided on a runway May 29 and came to rest 10 feet apart. The CRJ-200 regional jet
was cleared for takeoff and rolling down runway 18L when a Pilatus PC-12 turbo-prop
aircraft, also cleared to move onto the runway, entered at an intersection. The airport’s
ground-collision alert system warned controllers, and the regional jet’s takeoff was
aborted by the tower. No one was hurt in the incident. The 50-seat jet was carrying 42
passengers and three crew members and headed to New Bern. A spokeswoman for the
Federal Aviation Administration said the error came from an air traffic controller and
not from the pilots or crew members.
Source: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/597/story/759460.html
For more stories, see items 4, 7, 32, and 40
[Return to top]
-8-
Postal and Shipping Sector
20. June 2, Quad City Times – (Iowa) Suspicious envelope at Iowa judicial building
harmless. A suspicious envelope that brought a hazardous materials crew to the state’s
judicial branch building in Des Moines Tuesday morning turned out to be harmless. A
lieutenant with the Iowa State Patrol said the package contained something that looked
like crumpled up toilet paper in a sealed container. The hazard materials crew removed
the item, tested it and found it posed no danger, the lieutenant said. The lieutenant said
the package had never been intended for the judicial building and had been addressed to
another courthouse, possibly in Virginia. However, the package had a return address of
Iowa’s judicial building, which houses the Iowa Supreme Court. When the package did
not have the proper postage, it was sent to the return address. The state patrol continues
to investigate the matter along with federal authorities.
Source: http://www.qctimes.com/news/local/article_8a51b4ce-4fad-11de-9669001cc4c002e0.html
21. June 1, Middletown Press – (Connecticut) Investigation continues into mailbox bomb
incident. Police are continuing to search for clues in connection with a bottle-bomb
incident outside a Middletown, Connecticut, residence early Saturday morning. At the
same time as they continue to pursue clues into the incident, police are also suggesting
the episode was “just random. The initial supposition is that the device was the work of
children.
Source:
http://www.middletownpress.com/articles/2009/06/01/news/doc4a249a800c36d1339197
78.txt
[Return to top]
Agriculture and Food Sector
22. June 3, Associated Press – (Washington) Fire burns 3 buildings, chickens at
Stanwood farm. A three-alarm fire has destroyed three large buildings and killed
thousands of chickens at a poultry farm near Stanwood, Washington. Firefighters
estimate the damage at $2.2 million. The fire broke out around midnight on June 2 and
about 60 firefighters from several districts battled the fire through the early morning
hours. Tanker trucks had to bring in water. The three buildings — each about 60 feet
wide and 600 feet long — burned to the ground with chickens inside.
Source: http://www.cattlenetwork.com/top40_Content.asp?ContentID=319656
23. June 2, U.S. Food Safety and Inspection Service – (Oregon; Washington) Oregon firm
recalls ground beef products due to possible E. coli O157:H7 contamination. SP
Provisions, a Portland, Oregon, establishment is recalling approximately 39,973 pounds
of ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, the U.S.
Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced on
June 2. Each identifying case code is preceded by the date code “040809” through
“052809,” signifying the production date in “month/date/year” format, i.e. April 8, 2009
-9-
through May 28, 2009. Additionally, each product bears the establishment number
“EST. 2866” inside the USDA mark of inspection. These ground beef products were
produced on various dates from April 8, 2009 through May 28, 2009, and were
distributed to retail establishments as well as hotels, restaurants and institutions in
Oregon and Washington. The products, produced from the same source material, were
sent into commerce prior to May 29, 2009. The problem was discovered through FSIS
microbiological sampling. FSIS has received no reports of illnesses associated with
consumption of these products.
Source: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/Recall_027_2009_Release/index.asp
[Return to top]
Water Sector
24. June 2, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – (Maryland; National) EPA announces
$121.6 million recovery act funds for water infrastructure projects in Maryland to
boost economy, create jobs and protect public health. In a move that stands to create
jobs, boost local economies, improve aging water infrastructure, and protect human
health and the environment for the people in the State of Maryland, the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded over $121.6 million to the
Maryland Department of the Environment. An unprecedented $6 billion dollars will be
awarded to fund water and wastewater infrastructure projects across the country under
the Recovery Act in the form of low-interest loans, principal forgiveness and grants. At
least 20 percent of the funds provided under the Recovery Act are to be used for green
infrastructure, water and energy efficiency improvements and other environmentally
innovative projects.
Source:
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/E13DA3BA4959DCDD852575C90057C1D
7
25. June 2, Water Technology Online – (National) Proposed bill addresses utilities’
chemical security. The American Water Works Association (AWWA) legislative
director reported May 28 that two House committees are drafting legislation on
chemical facility security that would significantly affect drinking water utilities. The
proposed legislation, expected to be introduced in June, would require drinking water
utilities to develop — and then update every five years — vulnerability assessments, site
security plans and emergency response plans. According to the director, the current law
that established a federal security program for facilities manufacturing, using or storing
potentially hazardous chemicals, including chlorine gas, is set to expire at the end of
September. Drinking water and wastewater utilities currently are exempt from such law.
He said a key point of contention between the drinking water community and
congressional staff the past year has been the issue of “inherently safer technologies
(IST),” now titled “methods to reduce the consequences of a chemical release from an
intentional act.” Congressional staff has said the primary chemical they are targeting is
gaseous chlorine. According to the director, “AWWA strongly believes that the choice
of chemicals or processes should remain a local decision because the choice of
disinfectants is based on local water chemistry, local environmental factors, the targeted
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pathogens, plant worker safety and similar factors.”
Source: http://watertechonline.com/news.asp?N_ID=72001
26. June 1, Las Vegas Review-Journal – (Nevada) Lake level trigger for pipeline project.
For the first time, the Southern Nevada Water Authority has established a direct link
between its multibillion-dollar pipeline project and the shrinking water level at Lake
Mead. If Lake Mead’s elevation falls another 23 feet, the water authority board will be
asked to give the official go-ahead to construct the pipeline. The lake trigger is the
newest addition to the authority’s Water Resource Plan, which plots how the valley’s
wholesale water supplier expects to keep local taps running amid unprecedented drought
on the Colorado. Board members have already approved the pipeline concept and signed
off on ongoing efforts to secure water rights and environmental permits, but they have
never actually voted to build the project. That decision will come if, or perhaps when,
the surface of Lake Mead sinks to elevation 1,075, a low-water mark not seen since
1937 when the reservoir was being filled for the first time. The Water authority general
manager does not know when the trigger point might be reached. Current projections by
the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation call for Lake Mead to remain above 1,075 for the next
two years at least. The closest it is expected to come is in July, when the reservoir is
projected to slip below elevation 1,092 for the first time since March 1965. The
problem, the manager said, is that bureau projections are based on average flow, and the
Colorado has been anything but average over the past 10 years.
Source: http://www.lvrj.com/news/46614562.html
27. May 31, Newsday – (New York) Tab for Jones Beach water tower fix doubles to
$6.1m. A massive project to repair the crumbling brick and rusted steel of the historic
Jones Beach water tower will cost $6.1 million — nearly twice as much as originally
budgeted — and take at least four months longer than expected. Unanticipated damage
to the steel frame, caused by years of water and salt air, could not be seen immediately,
park officials said. “After they removed the concrete and brick encasement around some
of the structural steel, they found severe corrosion,” said the regional director of the
state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Once the problem was
uncovered, he said, work halted from January until this month. And the steel problem
cannot be addressed until the state attorney general and comptroller approve a $2.9million change order to expand the scope of the contract. The work had been scheduled
to be completed in September. “We don’t know what the ultimate date will be until we
get the contract approved,” he said. He said the deterioration so far has had no impact on
supplying water to the park from the 300,000-gallon water tank inside the tower.
Source: http://www.newsday.com/business/nylipark0112815181may31,0,6134932.story
For another story, see item 9
[Return to top]
Public Health and Healthcare Sector
28. June 3, Xinhua – (International) WHO getting closer to declaring A/H1N1 pandemic,
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says official. As the A/H1N1 flu virus spreads further around the world, the World
Health Organization (WHO) is getting closer to declaring a full pandemic, a senior
official of the UN agency said on Tuesday. “Globally we believe that we are at phase 5,
but we are getting closer to phase 6,” said WHO’s assistant director-general, referring to
the WHO’s six-phase pandemic alert system. The new virus is causing more and more
infections in countries outside of North America, notably in Britain, Spain, Japan,
Australia and Chile. According to the WHO’s current pandemic alert system, phase 6
will mean the A/H1N1 flu virus causes sustained and community-level human-to-human
transmission in regions outside of North America, so far the only region where
community-level outbreak has been confirmed. So far the virus has caused nearly
19,000 cases of infections in 64 countries and regions, including 117 deaths, the WHO
said.
Source: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-06/03/content_11477546.htm
[Return to top]
Government Facilities Sector
29. June 3, Associated Press – (North Carolina) Police arrest juvenile in NC school
threat. A North Carolina student faces a felony charge after police said the student
wrote a bomb threat on a bathroom wall. Multiple media outlets report that the
Morehead City Police Department charged the juvenile with making a false report about
a destructive device. A police spokesman said the student was in a juvenile holding
facility. The student’s name has not been released. Police said the student admitted
making the threat Tuesday that closed Morehead City Middle School.
Source: http://www.newsobserver.com/1565/story/1553636.html
30. June 2, Softpedia – (National) FBI network shut down because of computer virus.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation was confronted with a cyber-security incident last
week when a virus penetrated its unclassified network. The unnamed threat prompted
technicians to shut down the network and the e-mail system associated with it for 48
hours. In an official statement posted on its website, the FBI attempts to clarify what it
claims are “factual errors and inaccuracies” in media reports regarding the incident.
While the Bureau does not negate the security breach, it stresses that only its
unclassified network was affected. Furthermore, it explains that it was not the virus that
caused the network shutdown, but FBI’s own technicians, who were trying to contain
the issue and address it.
Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/FBI-Network-Shut-Down-Because-ofComputer-Virus-113139.shtml
31. June 2, Chicago Tribune – (Illinois) Powder at Gutierrez’ office a false alarm. A
suspicious powder that prompted a brief evacuation of the building that houses a U.S.
Representative’s Chicago office proved to be sawdust and pencil shavings, a Fire
Department spokesman said. Officials Tuesday morning evacuated the building at 2201
W. North Ave. after a suspicious package arrived. Firefighters and police officers were
called to the scene about 9 a.m. Tenants received the all clear to return after about 15
minutes. A press release later issued by the congressman said a letter sent with the
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sawdust and shavings contained “hateful language and terms derogatory to Latinos.”
The Representative said officials turned the matter over to federal authorities.
Source: http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/06/powder-leads-to-evacuation-ingutierrez-building.html
For more stories, see items 11 and 20
[Return to top]
Emergency Services Sector
32. June 3, Honolulu Advertiser – (Hawaii) $6.9 million grant will go toward new rescue
facility. The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded the state a $6.9 million
grant to build a new aircraft rescue and firefighting facility at the Moloka’i Airport.
State airport officials said the current facility is aging and stands in violation of a
number of federal safety guidelines, including its location. The new facility will be built
in a safer, more open area next to the airport’s air traffic control tower. Once completed,
the facility will feature a two-fire truck garage with room for the storage of fire and
rescue equipment. The building will also be equipped with an emergency generator.
Source:
http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20090603/NEWS25/906030361/+$6.9+milli
on+grant+will+go+toward+new+rescue+facility
33. June 2, WLKY 32 Louisville – (Kentucky) Emergency first responders evaluate
derailment response. Louisville’s emergency first responders train for mass casualty
incidents like Monday’s train derailment at the Louisville Zoo. Tuesday, officials said
that training paid off. “I think it was a uniquely smooth operation,” said the EMS
director. When the call went out, Metro EMS sent nine ambulances to the scene, with
the first arriving in just four minutes. He said his office also received mutual aid from
several private ambulance companies. “In 30 minutes flat, we were able to evaluate,
stabilize and move 20 people off the scene,” he said. “That’s remarkable when that can
happen at any scene at any disaster in any city in the world.” The EMS director said his
office plans to hold debriefing meetings with other first responders and hospitals to
discuss what worked and what did not about Monday’s response. For example, he said
his staff encountered problems with 2-way radio reception because of the zoo’s terrain.
He said that required employees to run information back and forth to each other. Plans
to update the city’s radio system could eliminate that issue in the future.
Source: http://www.wlky.com/news/19639159/detail.html
34. June 2, East Valley Tribune – (Arizona) Mesa unable to track 911 response times.
Mesa, Arizona, has no way to track whether its ambulance provider is responding to
life-threatening emergency calls as required under a contract between the city and the
company. A city audit released last week found that neither Mesa Fire Department
dispatchers nor Southwest Ambulance has the ability to consistently log the types of
emergency calls coming into the system or the responses to those calls. The result is
“data inaccuracies prevented us from assessing Southwest Ambulance’s compliance
with the contract’s primary performance measure, which is response time to 911 calls,”
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the report states. Mesa has a three-year contract, until 2010, with Southwest Ambulance,
a private ambulance provider. For serious emergencies, Southwest Ambulance must
arrive within nine minutes of being dispatched at least 90 percent of the time. Such calls
represent less than 5 percent of all calls, but these are critical calls, because they “often
involve patient survival,” the report adds. Mesa fire department officials have responded
to the audit, saying they are already working on rectifying these issues in conjunction
with Southwest Ambulance.
Source: http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/139914
For another story, see item 5
[Return to top]
Information Technology
35. June 2, IDG News Service – (International) Thousands of Web sites stung by mass
hacking attack. As many as 40,000 Web sites have been hacked to redirect unwitting
victims to another Web site that tries to infect PCs with malicious software, according to
security vendor Websense. The affected sites have been hacked to host JavaScript code
that directs people to a fake Google Analytics Web site, which provides data for Web
site owners on a site’s usage, then to another bad site, said the threat research manager
for Websense. Those Web sites have likely been hacked via a SQL injection attack, in
which improperly configured Web applications accept malicious data and get hacked,
the researcher said. Another possibility is that the FTP credentials for the sites have
somehow been obtained by hackers, giving them access to the inner workings of the site.
It appears the hackers are using automated tools to seek out vulnerable Web sites, the
researcher said. The latest campaign underscores the success hackers have at hosting
dangerous code on poorly secured Web sites. Once a user has been directed to the bogus
Google analytics site, it redirects again to another malicious domain. That site tests to
see if the PC has software vulnerabilities in either Microsoft Corp.’s Internet Explorer
browser or Firefox that can be exploited in order to deliver malware, the researcher said.
If it does not find a problem there, it will launch a fake warning saying the computer is
infected with malware and then try to get the user to willingly download a program that
purports to be security software but is actually a Trojan downloader, he said. The fake
security programs are often called “scareware” and do not work as advertised. As of
May 29, only four of 39 security software programs could detect that Trojan, although
that is now likely changed as vendors such as Websense swap malware samples with
other companies in order to improve overall Internet security.
Source:
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&taxono
myName=security&articleId=9133820&taxonomyId=17&intsrc=kc_top
See also: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10255226-83.html
36. June 2, eWeek – (International) Apple patches QuickTime, updates iTunes. Apple has
issued a slew of critical patches for its QuickTime media player and updated the digital
media application iTunes. Version 7.6.2 of QuickTime received the majority of patches,
targeted at patching holes that allow maliciously crafted files to perform unexpected
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application terminations or arbitrary code executions. The iTunes upgraded software
now supports iPhone and iPod touch with the iPhone’s 3.0 software update, and Version
8.2 also includes “many accessibility improvements and bug fixes,” according to Apple.
In March, Apple announced that iPhone firmware Version 3.0 was due to be released in
mid-2009. One QuickTime patch fixes a memory corruption issue that existed in the
player’s handling of Sorenson 3 video files, while another addressed the issue of a heap
buffer overflow existing in the handling of FLC compression files. Eight of the patches
concern Apple and Microsoft operating systems, and two patches address vulnerabilities
found only in Microsoft Vista and XP versions. The update is the second this year for
QuickTime; the first, issued in January, fixes seven security vulnerabilities. Microsoft
noted in a security report published in 2008 that, in the first half of 2008, a QuickTime
flaw had been the third-most attacked vulnerability for Windows XP users and the
fourth-most attacked for Vista customers.
Source: http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Midmarket/Apple-Patches-QuickTime-UpdatesiTunes-415256/
See also: http://elitestv.com/pub/2009/06/iphone-and-ipod-touch-are-vulnerable-tohackers-and-new-viruses
Internet Alert Dashboard
To report cyber infrastructure incidents or to request information, please contact US−CERT at soc@us−cert.gov or visit their
Website: http://www.us-cert.gov.
Information on IT information sharing and analysis can be found at the IT ISAC (Information Sharing and Analysis Center)
Website: https://www.it-isac.org/.
[Return to top]
Communications Sector
37. June 3, Daily Times – (Virginia) Broadband cables to be placed. The Eastern Shore of
Virginia Broadband Authority announced this week that it has completed an easement
purchase agreement with Canonie Atlantic Company and Cassatt Management LLC
(Bay Coast Railroad) for placement of a fiber optic cable along the railroad
immediately. Installation along the railway corridor is part of the network backbone, or
the “super highway” of the high-speed network. The first phase of the broadband
initiative, which places the fiber optic cable across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel,
is nearing completion, officials said in a prepared release. The goal of the authority is to
provide the most affordable, technologically up-to-date broadband Internet service
possible for all residents, businesses and institutions on Virginia’s Eastern Shore; and to
provide very high-speed access, said the interim executive director of the authority.
Source: http://www.delmarvanow.com/article/20090603/ESN02/906030385
38. June 2, Tampa Bay Business Journal – (Florida) AT&T activates Pasco, Hernando
cell towers. AT&T has activated three new cell sites in Pasco and Hernando counties.
The new sites are among nearly 100 AT&T plans to add in Florida this year. The
Hernando County cell site, located on U.S. 19 north of the Forest Oaks Boulevard
intersection, is providing additional wireless coverage in northern Spring Hill and along
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U.S. 19 just south of Weeki Wachee. In northwestern Pasco County, a new cell site on
Antler Lane is just east of the Suncoast Parkway/Veterans Expressway and north of the
Shady Hills Road exit. It is boosting coverage in Shady Hills and eastern Spring Hill,
the company said. Another new cell site is near County Line Road and Meadow Pointe
Boulevard in Wesley Chapel and that is expanding coverage in the Meadow Pointe
subdivision, according to a release. The new Hernando and Pasco county cell sites are
part of AT&T’s continued expansion of its high-speed, third-generation network. AT&T
announced late May that it would be upgrading its network with the goal of increasing
speed. Those upgrades are slated to begin later this year for completion expected in
2011.
Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/stories/2009/06/01/daily24.html
39. June 1, Techworld – (International) Servers crash after data center overheats. The
spate of hot weather in the United Kingdom claimed a notable scalp after a London data
center experienced a cooling failure, which caused several servers to overheat and crash.
The Braham Street data center, located in the City of London, and owned by Level 3
Communications, experienced a chiller failure on May 31 when one of the five units
designed to cool the data centre failed. “The faulty chiller is currently being repaired,
and the other chillers continue to operate at the facility,” he added. “Customers are being
informed of the issue.” Techworld understands that the data center itself continued to
run as usual with no downtime, but that several servers within the data center itself
overheated and crashed. Although the outside temperature on May 31 in that area
peaked at a high of 23 degrees Celsius (73 degrees Fahrenheit), the internal temperatures
within the data centre soared to an estimated 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees
Fahrenheit) by 7 p.m. in the evening. Typically, data centers aim to run at anywhere
from 18 to 25 degrees Celsius (64 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit). These soaring temperatures
claimed at least one victim, bringing down servers belonging to the music service
Last.fm, for five hours approximately.
Source: http://www.techworld.com/news/index.cfm?RSS&NewsID=116766
[Return to top]
Commercial Facilities Sector
40. June 3, San Francisco Chronicle – (National) S.F. startup protects from airborne
attack. A San Francisco startup endorsed by a former Homeland Security Secretary has
begun marketing a system designed to protect a building’s ventilation system in the case
of an airborne chemical, radiological or biological attack. Building Protection Systems
Inc. developed technology that can automatically shut down an air intake system three
seconds after detecting a toxic substance. The system also is designed to give building
managers and emergency workers detailed information about the substance. The former
Secretary, who recently signed on as a senior adviser to the firm, said in a telephone
interview that the system would help plug a major vulnerability for office buildings and
could be used for other public areas such as transportation systems. The system has
received a Qualified Anti-Terrorist Technology designation from the Homeland Security
Department. The system can be programmed to call police and fire agencies and tell
emergency personnel responding to the scene what the substance is and whether
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building occupants need to be evacuated or stay inside. The firm is also developing a
portable system for a West Coast police agency that could be used at major events.
Another system is being developed for public transit.
Source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgibin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/06/02/BUFD17VM49.DTL&type=tech
For more stories, see items 5, 31, and 33
[Return to top]
National Monuments & Icons Sector
See item 27
[Return to top]
Dams Sector
41. June 3, Seattle Times – (Washington) “Broken” communication between dam
operator and local governments exacerbated Pacific flood. Communication
breakdowns between emergency personnel at the local and federal level and a lack of
awareness about changes in the depth of the White River led to $15 million in flood
damage in Pacific in January, according to a report released on June 2. The Army Corps
of Engineers, which produced the report, also said it did not know how bad the flooding
was for almost a day, in part, because “no sense of emergency was communicated at any
level” after it released water from Mud Mountain Dam into the White River. The corps
met in January to review its response to the January 8 flood, which damaged 112 homes
and 10 businesses in Pacific, a city of 6,000 in South King County. King County’s
Office of Emergency Management did not write its own “after-action report” on lessons
learned because it participated in the corps’ review, a spokeswoman said. As a result of
discussions with the corps, the county emergency office has updated its emergencycontact lists to ensure it has correct phone numbers for other agencies and for people
who requested notification when flood conditions are predicted, a spokeswoman said. At
the time of the flooding, no one from the corps was in the county’s Emergency
Coordinating Center, and the phone contact the county had was for a corps employee
working on flooding in Snohomish County. The corps of engineers’ report said the
White River had lost 6 feet of depth — about 30 percent of its capacity — at one
location below the Mud Mountain Dam. But the corps was unaware the river had
become more shallow in recent years, so it miscalculated the amount of water it could
release from the dam without causing serious flooding downstream, the report said. The
miscalculation was due largely to a lack of reliable gauges along the river.
Source:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009293098_pacific03m0.html
[Return to top]
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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] summary of open−source published information concerning significant critical infrastructure
issues. The DHS Daily Open Source Infrastructure Report is archived for ten days on the Department of
Homeland Security Website: http://www.dhs.gov/iaipdailyreport
Contact Information
Content and Suggestions:
Send mail to NICCReports@dhs.gov or contact the DHS Daily
Report Team at (202) 312-3421
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Visit the DHS Daily Open Source Infrastructure Report and follow
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Contact DHS
To report physical infrastructure incidents or to request information, please contact the National Infrastructure
Coordinating Center at nicc@dhs.gov or (202) 282−9201.
To report cyber infrastructure incidents or to request information, please contact US−CERT at soc@us−cert.gov
or visit their Web page at www.us-cert.gov.
Department of Homeland Security Disclaimer
The DHS Daily Open Source Infrastructure Report is a non−commercial publication intended to educate and
inform personnel engaged in infrastructure protection. Further reproduction or redistribution is subject to original
copyright restrictions. DHS provides no warranty of ownership of the copyright, or accuracy with respect to the
original source material.
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