Wednesday, January 9, 2013

White House Petition Submitted for Exemption of Military Retirement Pay.

White House Petition Submitted for Exemption of Military Retirement Pay.

Exempt all military retirement pay from Federal and State income taxation.

Petition for the Federal Government to exempt all military retirements from federal and state income taxation. The Federal Government can set the example to support no income taxation on military retirements. Some States already exempt all or a portion of retired pay from income taxation. States Without income taxation Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington and Wyoming do not have a personal income tax. Two others, New Hampshire and Tennessee, tax only dividend and interest income.

Created: Dec 27, 2012

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Training Opportunity\Workshop: Understanding Sensory and Motor Differences in Adults with Autism

                                                  MCDD logo
                                                 


DDA/MCDD SUPPORTING ADULTS WITH
AUTISM TRAINING SERIES
presents a FREE workshop:

 Understanding Sensory and Motor Differences in Adults with Autism

Sensory Processing 

Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. at each location

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COLUMBIA
Monday February 11, 2013 
9:00 AM to 4:00 PM EST

Owen Brown Interfaith Center
7246 Cradlerock Way
Columbia, MD 21045

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CAMBRIDGE
Tuesday February 12, 2013
9:00 AM to 4:00 PM

Holiday Inn Express
2715 Ocean Gateway
Cambridge, MD 21613
  
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HAGERSTOWN
Wednesday February 13, 2013
9:00 AM to 4:00 PM

Ramada Plaza Hotel
1718 Underpass Way
Hagerstown MD, 21740 

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BOWIE
Thursday February 14, 2013
9:00 AM to 4:00 PM

Bowie Comfort Inn Conference Center
4500 Crain Highway
Bowie, MD 20716

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Continental breakfast and lunch will be provided at all locations.

*********************************
Inclement Weather Notice:

In the event of inclement weather that affects travel, the following policy will be followed:
If schools are closed in the county where the event is to be held, the event will be canceled.

People with autism often have extreme sensory sensitivities that can be painful and anxiety producing. People with autism may also have a range of motor inefficiencies or movement patterns that may interfere with accomplishing routine daily activities and communicating through gesture or speech. Understanding the sensory and motor differences underlying what are commonly referred to as "behaviors" can lead to effective approaches and insight for self regulation and performance.

During this workshop, participants will learn to:
1) Describe sensory sensitivities and sensory discomfort and their impact on social behavior.
2) Develop strategies to improve sensory comfort for adults with autism.
3) Recognize and articulate obstacles to physical performance of some people with autism that are frequently regarded as behavioral.
4) Create environmental adaptations and interactions to support intended responses of adults with autism.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Moya Kinnealey, Ph.D., OTR/L is an occupational therapist, researcher and expert on sensory and motor issues of people of all ages. Moya has presented nationally and internationally on this topic and has published articles on its impact on quality of life. Her clinical work has been with children, youth and adults with disabilities. Moya illuminates the sensory and motor differences of adults with autistic spectrum disorder in order to minimize potential obstacles to achieving their goals. Her perspective was developed through extensive interviews with youth and adults with autism in order to more deeply understand and apply her knowledge to the autistic experience.

Nick Pentzell, Autism Self Advocate is an honor student at Delaware Community College.  Nick is a "diffability" advocate who has presented at conferences for organizations such as YAP Inc., the Society of Disability Studies and the Autism National Committee (AutCom). His work has been published in several books and journals about autism and facilitated communication.  Two of these journals can be accessed at www.autcom.org/pdf/AutcomNLSpring2010.pdf and www.dsq-sds.org/article/view/1054/1241. Nick's award winning documentary "Outside/Inside" has been shown at disability film festivals worldwide. Nick is an expert teacher of the autism experience.
 REGISTRATION INFORMATION!!

Columbia: Monday, February 11, 2013


Cambridge: Tuesday, February 12, 2013


Hagerstown: Wednesday, February 13, 2013


Bowie: Thursday, February 14, 2013

If you should need any special accommodations please contact Aisha Mason at mcdd@kennedykrieger.org.

Hope to see you there! 

Sincerely,

Aisha Mason
Maryland Center for Developmental Disabilities
443-923-9555

SCAM Alerts.


Internet Crime Complaint Center's (IC3)
Scam Alerts

This report, which is based upon information from law enforcement and complaints submitted to the IC3, details recent cyber crime trends and new twists to previously-existing cyber scams.

New Twist to Online Tech Support Scam

The IC3 continues to receive complaints reporting telephone calls from individuals claiming to be with Tech Support from a well-known software company. The callers have very strong accents and use common names such as "Adam" or "Bill." Callers report the user's computer is sending error messages, and a virus has been detected. In order to gain access to the user's computer, the caller claims that only their company can resolve the issue.

The caller convinces the user to grant them the authority to run a program to scan their operating system. Users witness the caller going through their files as the caller claims they are showing how the virus has infected their computer.

Users are told the virus could be removed for a fee and are asked for their credit card details. Those who provide the caller remote access to their computers, whether they paid for the virus to be removed or not, report difficulties with their computer afterwards; either their computers would not turn on or certain programs/files were inaccessible.

Some report taking their computers to local technicians for repair and the technicians confirmed software had been installed. However, no other details were provided.

In a new twist to this scam, it was reported that a user's computer screen turned blue, and eventually black, prior to receiving the call from Tech Support offering to fix their computer. At this time, it has not been determined if this is related to the telephone call or if the user had been experiencing prior computer problems.

TDoS Attacks to Emergency Services

As some are aware, reports of pay day loan phone scams have been occurring for the last three years or more. The scam involves victims being relentlessly contacted at their residences and places of employment regarding claims they are delinquent on a payday loan. Various coercion techniques have been used by the subjects in an attempt to persuade the victim to send money. Such techniques have evolved from repeated annoying phone calls to abusive language, threats of bodily harm, and arrests.

The IC3 has become aware of increased coercion tactics used by the subjects, which have created a threat to emergency services across the nation. The threats have now escalated into a Telephony Denial of Service (TDoS) attacks against the victims' employers, which some have been emergency service agencies. The TDoS attacks have tied up the emergency services' telephone lines, preventing them from receiving and responding to legitimate emergency calls.

The other tactic the subjects are now using in order to convince the victim that a warrant for their arrest exists is by spoofing a police department's telephone number when calling the victim. The subject claims there is a warrant issued for the victim's arrest for failure to pay off the loan. In order to have the police actually respond to the victim's residence, the subject places repeated, harassing calls to the local police department while spoofing the victim's telephone number.

Most Popular 2012 Passwords Revealed

SplashData.com recently published the following information regarding the most popular 2012 passwords on the web. The ranking was based on password information from compromised accounts posted by hackers online. The article was also featured on blogs.avg.com.
This year, the list is back! So it's time to see how, if at all, users have learned their lessons about what makes a strong password.
Here's the full list and how it compares to last year's:
#PasswordChange from 2011
1.passwordUnchanged
2.123456Unchanged
3.12345678Unchanged
4.abc123Up 1
5.qwertyDown 1
6.monkeyUnchanged
7.letmeinUp 1
8.dragonUp 2
9.111111Up 3
10.baseballUp 1
11.iloveyouUp 2
12.trustno1Down 3
13.1234567Down 6
14.sunshineUp 1
15.masterDown 1
16.123123Up 4
17.welcomeNew
18.shadowUp 1
19.ashleyDown 3
20.footballUp 5
21.jesusNew
22.michaelUp 2
23.ninjaNew
24.mustangNew
25.password1New
As you can see, people haven’t changed their password habits a whole lot in a year.
If your password is included on that list, or is a close variation of these passwords, it's really important to take action now!
Fixing your password problem can be very simple;
Long is strong: The longer the password, the more difficult it will be for someone to try and crack it using brute force. So, instead of a single word, with a jumble of symbols, numbers and characters, try a string of words. Use a line of your favorite poem, song or just something memorable. Feel free to add your lucky number at the end if you like.
Something like: "withnodirectionhome1085".
A famous Dylan lyric like this will always be easy to remember, and say you were born in October 1985. This means that you've suddenly got a 23 character password, which is much harder to crack than something much harder to remember such as "Phu!R7tRjX".
Variety is the spice of life: The trouble with smaller, complex passwords is that they can be a real hassle to remember, often forcing you to use the same password for multiple accounts which is never a good idea. So another benefit of having long, easy to remember passwords is that you keep many passwords.

Java Zero-Day Exploit On Sale for 'Five Digits'

Miscreants in the cyber underground are selling an exploit for a previously undocumented security hole in Oracle's Java software that attackers can use to remotely seize control over systems running the program, KrebsOnSecurity has learned.
The flaw, currently being sold by an established member of an invite-only Underweb forum, targets an unpatched vulnerability in Java JRE 7 Update 9, the most recent version of Java (the seller says this flaw does not exist in Java 6 or earlier versions).
According to the vendor, the weakness resides within the Java class "MidiDevice.Info," a component of Java that handles audio input and output. "Code execution is very reliable, worked on all 7 version I tested with Firefox and MSIE on Windows 7," the seller explained in a sales thread on his exploit. It is not clear whether Chrome also is affected. "I will only sell this ONE TIME and I leave no guarantee that it will not be patched so use it quickly."
The seller was not terribly specific on the price he is asking for this exploit, but set the expected offer at "five digits." The price of any exploit is ultimately whatever the market will bear, but this is roughly in line with the last Java zero-day exploit that was being traded and sold on the underground. In August, I wrote about a newly discovered Java exploit being folded into the BlackHole exploit kit, quoting the author of that crimeware tool as saying that "the price of such an exploit if it were sold privately would be about $100,000."
I have repeatedly urged readers who have no use for Java to remove it from their systems entirely. This is a very complex program that is widely installed (Oracle claims that some 3 billion devices run Java), and those two qualities make it a favorite target for attackers. What’s more, Java is a cross-platform technology, meaning that applications written to run in Java can run seamlessly across multiple operating systems. Indeed, some 650,000 Mac users discovered this the hard way earlier this year, when the Flashback worm took advantage of an unpatched vulnerability that was present in Apple's version of Java.
Apple has since taken steps to unplug Java from the browser in OS X, and this is the very approach I’ve recommended for users who need Java for specific Web sites or applications (see: http://krebsonsecurity.com/how-to-unplug-java-from-the-browser), I would suggest a two-browser approach. If you normally browse the Web with Firefox, for example, consider disabling the Java plugin in Firefox, and then using an alternative browser (Chrome, IE9, Safari, etc.) with Java enabled to browse only the site that requires it.

Fake Order Confirmation Emails from American Airlines Leads to Malware

MX Lab, http://www.mxlab.eu, intercepted some samples of fake order confirmation emails from American Airlines that will lead the user to a host with an embedded Javascript that will download the malicious payload.
The email is send from the spoofed address "American Airlines" and has the following body (single image email):
Fake American Airlines email
In this case, the URL hxxp://egiser-ingenieros.com/FAHSIENFHE.html brings us to an HTML page with an embeded Javascript that will starts the download of the malicious ZIP file:
<html>(CR)(LF) <body>(CR)(LF) <script⋅language="JavaScript">(CR)(LF) <!–(CR)(LF) window.location="AA_Electronic_Ticket.zip";(CR)(LF) //–>(CR)(LF) </script>(CR)(LF) </body>(CR)(LF) </html> The ZIP file has the name AA_Electronic_Ticket.zip and contains the 60 kB large file AA_Electronic_Ticket.exe.
The trojan is known as Spyware/Win32.Zbot, Win32/TrojanDownloader.Zortob.B, Trojan.Generic.KDV.783582, W32/Kryptik.BWW.
At the time of writing, 13 of the 44 AV engines did detect the trojan at Virus Total.
Virus Total permalink and SHA256:
df95ea18dd12805419f71d33e7e8e2bd7a9c013b9799559ef288b609cc56e84f.

A Million Dollars, the Internet Crime Complaint Center and Naked Security — the Ingredients for a Scam

Naked Security released the following article on November 7, 2012.
An email scam is using a Naked Security news story about the arrest of a gang of suspected credit card fraudsters, in an attempt to scam innocent internet users.
The scam emails have the subject line "We have mandated your payment, kindly view below attachment", and claim to come from the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).
Attached to the emails is a file (DETAILS.doc) which presents itself as an official communication from the IC3, explaining that criminal proceeds have been confiscated from scammers, and as the recipient's name and email address was found in the criminals' possession one million dollars in compensation is available.
Fake IC3 scam email
Part of the Word document, which uses the genuine IC3 logo, reads as follows:
We are hereby to inform you that we have been able to trap down some of the scam artists which have troubled the general public in name of helping our individuals to get their benefited fund or to indulge into business with them with the aim of defrauding our individuals.
Upon the course of our investigations, we found some documents bearing your name and your email address in the computer hard disk of the scammers. Having reported this matter to the World Bank president (Jim Yong Kim) who instructed that the assets confiscated from the scammers should be shared to those that their name and email address was found in the possession of the scam artists as refund of loosed money in the form of cash payment which you are among. You are therefore to be compensating with the sum of One Million United States Dollars (1US$Million).
Also we arrested some men who claim to be bank officials, Contract managers, Barrister and Lottery Agents from London who has been sending you bogus letters and SMS via your telephone numbers indicating that you have won a lottery which does not exist, claiming to release your fund via ATM CARD, proposing you business which never exist and those using the HSBC Bank London, South African Reserve Bank, First Commercial Bank London, Financial Intelligence Center, FBI to scam the general public.
The email then goes on to request that the recipient send over their name, address and phone number to an email address, allegedly belonging to the deputy governor of a South African bank.
It doesn't take a super-sleuth to realise that this is going to end up as a 419 scam, with the potential victim encouraged to pay a logistical fee in advance for the release of the funds. In short, anyone who falls for the ruse is going to end up out of pocket.
What caught our eye, however, was the news story link that the scammers are using to give credence to their story that funds are available after the capture of cybercriminals.
Fake IC3 scam email detail
Yes, it points to a Naked Security story from earlier this year about an FBI arrest of 24 people in a suspected credit card fraud ring.
I guess we should be flattered..\
Don't forget — just because you think it's unlikely that anyone would ever fall for an email scam like this, doesn't mean they don't succeed. There are people out there who are vulnerable or elderly who could be tricked into believing that the offer is real — and end up losing a lot of money as a result.

Monday, January 7, 2013

Internship Opportunities: USAID. Deadline January 28, 2013

Dear Global Health Colleague, 

The internship application deadline is approaching! Submit all your application materials by January 28th, 5:00 PM EST.

Make summer 2013 your career stepping stone
The Global Health Fellows Program II (GHFP-II) is pleased to announce its Summer 2013 internships with the US Agency for International Development (USAID) in the Agency's Washington, DC headquarters. We have added 4 positions since the initial announcement, for a total of 25 available summer internships!

Work with the largest development agency in the world
USAID is home to a wide range of global health professionals working on health projects of international scope and importance. Contribute your skills to specific activities in one of five offices of the USAID Bureau for Global Health: Office of the Assistant Administrator; Office of HIV/AIDS; Office of Population and Reproductive Health; Office of Health, Infectious Diseases and Nutrition; and the Office of Programming, Planning, and Policy.

These internships will provide you a unique opportunity to gain practical experience in the field of global health. You'll be working with experienced professionals on health projects of international importance.

To learn more about what it's like to be a GHFP-II intern, check out this great video made by a GHFP-II 2012 Summer Alumnus. 
Technical areas include:
  • Infectious diseases: HIV/AIDS, TB, Malaria
  • Maternal and child health
  • Reproductive health
  • Nutrition
  • Commodities and logistics
  • Youth programming
  • Demography
Positions and Applicants
A variety of competitive positions are available. While most positions are at the graduate level, some positions are also open to undergraduate students who meet certain criteria, as well as some that will be challenging for PhD candidates and mid-career changers. We are interested in people from a broad range of disciplines including:
  • Public health
  • Social work
  • Education
  • International relations/development
  • Supply chain management
  • Database technology and informatics
  • Medicine
  • Nursing/midwifery
  • Public policy
  • Pharmacy
  • Business administration
  • Social entrepreneurship
  • Population and demographic studies
  • Communications

25 Summer 2013 Internships are available, including:

NEW Office of HIV/AIDS
Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) and Social Service Workforce Strengthening (SSWS) Intern

NEW Office of HIV/AIDS; Implementation Support Division
Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) Psychosocial Support and Evaluation Intern

NEW Office of Health, Infectious Disease, and Nutrition
Private Sector Partnerships Intern

NEW Center to Accelerate Innovation and Impact
Saving Lives at Birth Intern


INTERNSHIP DATES: May 28, 2013 - August 20, 2013
APPLICATION DEADLINE:All applications must be submitted by 5:00 pm Eastern Time January 28, 2013.

TO APPLY, please find detailed instructions at www.ghfp.net.

NOTE: All internships require US citizenship or permanent resident status. We are proud to be an EEO/AA Employer.

Applicants can apply for up to two internship positions. If you apply for a Winter On-Demand Internship, you will only be allowed to apply for one Summer 2013 Internship.

To learn more about USAID, please visit www.usaid.gov.
To learn more about GHFP-II, please visit www.ghfp.net.

Friday, January 4, 2013

HHS Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships January 2013 Webinars


The HHS Partnership Center continues to host a series of webinars for faith and community leaders. All webinars are open to the public and include a question and answer session where you can ask HHS staff any questions you may have. We also encourage you to submit questions you would like to have answered on the webinars to ACA101@hhs.gov.
To participate in one of the webinars, please select your preferred topic from the list below and submit the necessary information. After registering you will receive an e-mail confirmation containing information about joining the webinar. Please contact us at ACA101@hhs.gov if you have registration problems.

January 10th at 2:00 p.m. ET
A presentation on the main provisions in the Affordable Care Act, the health care law, and how to access care in your community.

January 16 at 12:30 pm ET
Text4Baby is a free texting service that helps improve maternal and child health and reduce infant mortality. The presentation will highlight how Text4Baby works, why it is effective and how to share this resource with others.

January 22 at 2:00 p.m. ET
A presentation on the main provisions in the Affordable Care Act, the health care law, and how to access care in your community in Spanish. 

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