The day’s top stories in social media and technology for 4/10: Ryan Seacrest is the latest SWATting victim, social media safety tips from the woman whose photo was used as Manti Te’o’s fake girlfriend, teens are changing their Facebook usage, people are rude on social media and it’s ruining friendships, Bitcoin crashes hard, Oliver Stone meets with Julian Assange, Anonymous is going after Canadian suicide victim’s rapists, South Korea says North Korean spy agency behind March cyberattack, police in LA struggle to keep up with SWATtings while stars grow weary, member of Osama bin Laden raid team will be a witness in WikiLeaks trial, a defense of the video game industry and its ability to self-regulate, Ubisoft takes its download service offline after breach.
Read below for these stories and more.
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Featured Story
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And the SWATting of the day…
Ryan Seacrest, SWATting Victim
Hey, WHERE ARE YOU, ERIC HOLDER?
The new development in the Wikileaks case is also an important story, don’t miss that one under “Law and Order.“
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Social Media/Tech Trends, Happenings and Faux Pas.
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In case you wake up one day and suddenly discover someone’s been using you as a fake girlfriend…
Five Rules for Social Media Safety – From Manti Te’o’s ‘Girlfriend’
Teens are still using Facebook, but they’re using it differently than before. Maybe it’s because they’re spending all their time on Snapchat.
Facebook Still Reigns Supreme With Teens, But Social Media Interest Dwindling
Sometimes the things you say on social media really do have real-life consequences.
People more likely to be rude on social media; affects friendships in real life
Whoops.
Bitcoin crashes, losing nearly half of its value in six hours
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Hoaxes, Harassment and Hacking.
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Of course he did.
Oliver Stone Meets With Julian Assange, Rips Upcoming Films About WikiLeaks
This is shaping up to become another Steubenville. Justice is good, but vigilante justice is scary.
Columnist Enlists Anonymous to Take Down Rapists
Officials in Seoul said “North Korea was responsible for a cyberattack that shut down tens of thousands of computers and servers at South Korean broadcasters and banks last month.”
South Korea says North Korean spy agency behind March cyberattack
At least the celebrity SWATtings are drawing media’s attention to the problem.
‘Swatting’ Hoax Tests the Police and Stars Alike
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Law and Order.
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This is a rather important development in the government’s case against Bradley Manning. “The government said the witness, presumably a Navy SEAL, collected digital evidence showing that an associate of bin Laden provided the Al Qaeda leader with documents Manning has acknowledged sending to the WikiLeaks website.”
Bin Laden raid member cleared to testify in WikiLeaks trial
While I think existing laws are sufficient, I don’t think adding fines will do a thing to deter SWATters, either. To start, the current 911 system is ill-equipped to even track most calls. More importantly, SWATters don’t care.
Anti-‘Swatting’ Bill Moves Forward in CA Legislature
Another concern for blogger free speech in a country that enjoys very little of it.
Iran: Blogger jailed for branding Khamenei speech ‘strange’
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Gamer-land.
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Yet legislators still want to talk about legislating video games.
A followup to yesterday’s Cyber Beat post on the Ubisoft breach and Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon.