Month: April 2020

Microsoft Releases Security Updates for Multiple Products


Microsoft has released security updates to address multiple vulnerabilities in products that use the Autodesk FBX library.

These include Office 2016, Office 2019, Office 365 ProPlus, and Paint 3D. A remote attacker can exploit these vulnerabilities to take control of an affected system.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) encourages users and administrators to review Microsoft Advisory ADV200004 and apply the necessary updates.

Availability of updates for Microsoft software utilizing the Autodesk FBX library

Microsoft is announcing the release of updates to address multiple vulnerabilities found in the Autodesk FBX library which is integrated into certain Microsoft applications.

Details about the vulnerabilities can be found here – https://www.autodesk.com/trust/security-advisories/adsk-sa-2020-0002

Remote code execution vulnerabilities exist in Microsoft products that utilize the FBX library when processing specially crafted 3D content. An attacker who successfully exploited these vulnerabilities could gain the same user rights as the local user. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights.

To exploit the vulnerabilities, an attacker must send a specially crafted file containing 3D content to a user and convince them to open it.

The security updates address these vulnerabilities by correcting the way 3D content is handled by Microsoft software.

US-cert.gov (April 2020)Microsoft Releases Security Updates for Multiple Products

Defense Officials Express Agreement With President’s Warning to Iran


Defense Department officials are in full agreement with President Donald J. Trump’s warning to the Iranian regime on Twitter, senior Pentagon officials said on Wednesday.

The Iranian regime has a history of harassing U.S. vessels operating in the Persian Gulf. In the past, small, quick Iranian boats have charged at U.S. ships in international waters.

The president tweeted, “I have instructed the United States Navy to shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at sea.”

“The president issued an important warning to the Iranians,” Deputy Defense Secretary David L. Norquist said during a Pentagon news conference today. “What he was emphasizing is all of our ships retain the right of self-defense, and people need to be very careful in their interactions to understand the inherent right of self-defense.” 

The president’s tweet does not signal a new policy, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, as U.S. forces in any environment retain the right to defend themselves. “Every ship that deploys in harm’s way has the inherent right of self-defense,” Air Force Gen. John E. Hyten told reporters. “What that means is if we see a hostile act, if we see hostile intent, we have the right to respond, up to and including lethal force.”

Hyten warned Iran that, if threatened, U.S. commanders “will respond with overwhelming lethal force.” 

Norquist said Trump was responding to Iran’s poor behavior. “He is emphasizing and warning them about the challenges of what they will create,” the deputy secretary said. “I think it was a very useful thing that he put out, and I think it’s an important thing for other people to understand and take very seriously.”

Hyten emphasized that he thinks it is a good thing that the president warned an adversary. He said that if the Iranians want to go down that path, “we will come, and we will come large.”

Defense.gov (April 2020)Defense Officials Express Agreement With President’s Warning to Iran

Agents Foil Two Drug Smuggling Attempts Over the Weekend


Four men were arrested by U.S. Border Patrol El Paso Sector agents while attempting to smuggle drugs in a remote area of New Mexico over the weekend.

Late Saturday evening, Santa Teresa station Border Patrol agents were alerted to a group of four subjects carrying several large backpacks from Mexico into the U.S. Agents responded to the area and engaged in a foot pursuit. Camera operators assisted the agents in pinpointing the location of the fleeing Mexican nationals and they were taken into custody. Agents also recovered the three backpacks with the suspected contraband at a pickup location nearby.  

Agents contacted the Dona Ana County Sheriff’s Office and prosecution was accepted for the three adult males. The fourth individual is a juvenile that will be expelled back to Mexico.

Earlier in the day, a gray Jeep Wrangler with one male occupant entered the primary inspection area at the Alamogordo Border Patrol Station checkpoint. During their investigation, agents requested and were granted permission to conduct a search of the vehicle.  Another agent inspecting the vehicle notified fellow agents to conduct a more thorough physical search of the vehicle after his canine partner alerted to the possible presence of narcotics.

Border Patrol agents discovered an assortment of drugs and paraphernalia during the search. The driver of the rental vehicle was identified as a 27-year-old U.S. citizen. He was turned over to the Otero County Sheriff’s Department for prosecution.

“Our Border Patrol Agents are tireless in their continued efforts to keep criminals and illegal narcotics out of our community” said Chief Patrol Agent Gloria I. Chavez, El Paso Sector Border Patrol.

The men and women of the U.S. Border Patrol seek to disrupt the drug smuggling operations along the border and at immigration checkpoints within the United States. They aim to keep dangerous drugs out of the neighborhoods and communities where they live and work.   

U.S. Customs and Border Protection welcomes assistance from the community. Citizens are encouraged to report suspicious activity to the U.S. Border Patrol while remaining anonymous by calling 1-800-635-2509.  

CBP.gov (April 2020) Agents Foil Two Drug Smuggling Attempts Over the Weekend

DHS Makes $10 Million in Funding Available for Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention Grants


On Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that they are making $10 million available to help local communities more effectively combat terrorism and targeted violence across the United States. 

The $10 million appropriated by Congress under the Fiscal Year 2020 Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention (TVTP) Grant Program will support the development of a nationwide terrorism and targeted violence prevention framework.

DHS strongly encourages all eligible entities to apply for this funding opportunity to build capabilities in their communities and online.

“Attacks by domestic terrorists, those inspired by foreign terrorist organizations, and acts committed by violent individuals with no clear ideological motivation have occurred in communities across America with tragic outcomes,” said Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad F. Wolf.  “These grants will improve local communities’ ability to prevent individuals from mobilizing or radicalizing to violence and create locally-based prevention frameworks to address these emerging threats.”

The TVTP Grant Program helps DHS to fulfill its commitment to addressing the threat posed by terrorism and targeted violence at home and builds on the promising practices identified in previous grant programs.  

It is the only federal grant program dedicated to enhancing prevention capabilities in local communities. In its first year, the TVTP Grant Program has three priorities: (1) establishing and enhancing local prevention frameworks with an emphasis on threat assessment and management capabilities; (2) preventing domestic terrorism; and (3) finding innovative solutions for preventing targeted violence and terrorism.

“I want to thank Congress for funding for this mission in a bipartisan way over the last few years, most recently and most significantly, in the Fiscal Year 2020 Appropriations Act. We look forward to working with Congress to continue to advance this effort.” Wolf continued.

Eligible activities under the TVTP Grant Program cover all aspects of prevention, including building resilience, intervention, recidivism prevention, and reintegration programs at the local level. The program directly supports the objectives of the DHS Strategic Framework for Countering Terrorism and Targeted Violence, which DHS released in September 2019. Making these funds available for local prevention partners is a key milestone in the implementation of the Strategic Framework.

TVTP Grant Program funds will support the development of local prevention capabilities at a time when DHS is observing an uptick in online efforts for terrorism recruitment and radicalization from a variety of sectors.

DHS is committed to expanding the program and the President has requested an additional $20 million for TVTP grant funds next fiscal year.

The application period will close on May 29, 2020. Applicants should consult the Notice of Funding Opportunity for more specific information about the process. Applying for this grant is a multi-step process and it is recommended that applicants begin that process early in order to allow sufficient time to complete the interim steps.

For more information, please see the TVTP Grant Program site at https://www.dhs.gov/tvtpgrants.

DHS.gov (April 2020) DHS Makes $10 Million in Funding Available for Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention Grants

Pharmacist Arrested and Charged with Firebombing Plot


A Nebraska pharmacist was arrested on Friday on charges related to an alleged conspiracy to use explosives, specifically Molotov cocktails, to firebomb and destroy a competitor pharmacy.

According to court documents, Hyrum T. Wilson, 41, of Auburn, told an alleged co-conspirator: “This is the last shipment he will get from me as long as the other pharmacy is still standing.”

Wilson allegedly supplied thousands of prescription pills, including opioids, from his business, Hyrum’s Family Value Pharmacy, to William Anderson Burgamy IV. Burgamy allegedly operated as the Darknet vendor NeverPressedRX (NPRX) from August 2019 through April 2020, and had thousands of illegal recorded sales on a major Darknet market. Burgamy was charged in the Eastern District of Virginia last week and ordered detained.

The firebombing plot was uncovered through search warrants that were executed following Burgamy’s arrest.

According to court documents, Wilson conspired with Burgamy to conduct a firebombing of another pharmacy in Auburn, Nebraska. The goal of the plot was to destroy Wilson’s local competition, which Wilson and Burgamy allegedly believed would increase the volume of prescription drugs that Wilson’s business could obtain, thereby allowing Wilson and Burgamy’s drug trafficking operation to continue and expand.

Wilson and Burgamy allegedly agreed that the plot, named “Operation Firewood,” would involve the use of Molotov cocktails to burn down the victim pharmacy, and that Burgamy would carry numerous firearms during the attack.

Wilson allegedly created “getaway” maps and routes for Burgamy to use to help him evade law enforcement detection following the intended firebombing. Wilson also suggested that Burgamy steal prescription medications from the victim pharmacy before setting it on fire, and Burgamy offered to share with Wilson the profits from any stolen drugs.

Wilson is charged with conspiracy to use fire and explosives, conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, and a firearms-related offense. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of life in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.

A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Kevin Vorndran, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office Criminal Division; Mark S. McCormack, Special Agent in Charge, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations, Metro Washington Field Office; Peter R. Rendina, Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; and Jesse R. Fong, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Field Division, made the announcement.

The FBI’s Omaha Field Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nebraska provided significant assistance in executing the arrest. Assistant U.S. Attorney Raj Parekh is prosecuting the case.

This investigation was conducted by the FBI Washington Field Office’s Hi-Tech Opioid Task Force, which is composed of FBI agents and task force partners, including special agents and officers of the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations, DEA, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and detectives from local assisting police agencies. The task force is charged with identifying and investigating the most egregious Dark Web marketplaces, and the vendors operating on the marketplaces who are engaged in the illegal acquisition and distribution of controlled substances, to include fentanyl, methamphetamine, and other opioids. This investigation was also supported by the interagency Joint Criminal Opioid and Darknet Enforcement (JCODE) team.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:20-mj-140.

A criminal complaint is merely an accusation. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Justice.gov (April 2020) Pharmacist Arrested and Charged with Firebombing Plot