The day’s top stories in social media and technology for 4/5: Justin Timberlake SWATted, family pleads for jailed Saudi blogger, member of Anonymous arrested in Australia, hacker ‘Weev’ is tweeting from prison, telephone hack that could cripple your 911 service, new Wikileaks cable reveals US embassy strategy to destabilize Chavez government, a new approach to foiling hackers, a NJ man pleads guilty to stalking and online harassment charges, Google accidentally reveals it’s fighting back against government snooping, Maryland moves to ban cyberbullying, Microsoft employee’s Xbox tweet causes a stir, and can video games be political?
Read below for these stories and more.
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Featured Story
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“As we reported, it appears the hackers who obtained financial information from a number of celebrities, including Michelle Obama and Kim Kardashian, are behind the latest swatting incidents.” When will the DoJ do something about this trend?
UPDATE: Another one just happened within 2 hours of Justin Timberlake’s SWATting.
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Social Media/Tech Trends, Happenings and Faux Pas.
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Blogger is “accused of, among other things, breaking Sharia law and starting a website that infringed on religious values,” after trying to “encourage discussion about religion in his homeland.”
Family pleads for jailed Saudi blogger
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Hoaxes, Harassment and Hacking.
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Scheduled to appear in children’s court on May 17, 2013.
17 year-old alleged Anonymous member arrested in Australia
Good question.
How Is Hacker ‘Weev’ Tweeting From Prison?
Well, that’s (not) comforting.
The Telephone Hack That Could Cripple Your 911 Service
Expected that Chavez’s re-election would make the “atmosphere for our work in Venezuela” more complicated.
New WikiLeaks cable reveals US embassy strategy to destabilize Chavez government
Socially engineering the hackers?
A Different Approach To Foiling Hackers? Let Them In, Then Lie To Them.
An update on a previously reported NJ stalking/harassment case…
East Windsor CEO pleads guilty to resolve online harassment, stalking charges
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Law and Order.
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It’s hard to tell anymore who’s doing the snooping.
Document Accidentally Filed Publicly Reveals Google Fighting Back Against Government Snooping
Even the best intended efforts can have unintended consequences.
Maryland Moves To Ban ‘Cyberbullying’
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Gamer-land.
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An oops comment from a Microsoft employee starts a firestorm…
Xbox tweets hint at ‘always on’ future
…and an apology wasn’t far behind.
Better question – should they be?
Can video games be political?
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