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YouTube sues user who extorted others through fake takedown requests
A lawsuit filed by YouTube yesterday claims that a user abused its copyright infringement reporting system to extort fellow YouTubers and carry out a swatting attack. YouTube alleges that Christopher Brady, of Omaha, Nebraska, filed dozens of Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedown notices, which falsely claimed that materials posted by other users infringed his copyrights. Not only were the takedown notices bogus, they were allegedly part of Brady's plan to extort money from those users.
'Call of Duty' swatter to serve 20 years in prison
Tyler Barriss was sentenced to 20 years in prison by a US district court judge today for placing fake 911 calls, including a swatting incident in 2017 that resulted in the death of a man in Wichita, Kansas, according to the Associated Press. The fatal shooting was the fallout of an argument over a $1.50 bet in Call of Duty between Barriss and another gamer.
Politician rallying against SWATting falls victim herself
Writing about SWATting victims is as depressing as writing about data breaches, but this is the future we live in. In regards to the former, the politician who's come out strongest against the potentially deadly prank found herself on the receiving end of it recently. As her Boston local CBS station reports, Congresswoman Katherine Clark had a smattering of police officers with "long guns" on her front lawn Sunday night. What'd she do, broadcast some Counter-Strike? No, She's rallying behind the Interstate Swatting Hoax Act, a bill that'd make prank calling the SWAT team on someone a federal offense. Currently, the law states that faking a bomb threat or terrorist attack via telecommunications and across state lines is illegal; SWATting is not.
Twitch bans streamer who faked his own swatting
There are a couple things you probably shouldn't do to celebrate acquiring 800,000 followers on Twitch. Faking your own swatting at the end of a 24-hour live event, as streamer Trick2g recently did, is at the top of the list. Trick2g, who focused primarily on League of Legends during his broadcasts, can be seen casually chatting with viewers when two "police officers" bust in and haul him away.
GamerGate target starts online harassment prevention program
Despite Twitter making it easier to report cyber harassment, its measures still fall woefully short. To wit, game developers Zoe Quinn, one of GamerGate's biggest targets, and Alex Lifschitz have teamed up to form an online abuse help network. Crash Override says its goal is to provide a support network for victims of SWATting, doxxing and other maliciousness both preventatively and reactively. It accomplishes this by using "well-established, humane and transparent channels to disempower abuse and reduce the ability abusers have to perpetuate it." The outfit notes that in its trial runs it's effectively helped abuse targets head off SWATting attempts and lock down their personal information, too, all without resorting to more harassment. What's more, Crash Override counts whitehat hackers, infosec professionals and lawyers among its agents.
Bungie executive swatted
An unnamed "high-up executive" at Destiny developer Bungie was visited by police officers and a sheriff's helicopter at his house in Sammamish, Washington early yesterday morning. Polygon reports that a fake 911 call informed police that someone had placed explosives in the executive's yard and was holding a family hostage with an assault rifle. Law enforcement officials haven't traced the call's origin as of yet, but if caught the swatter could face a year in prison and a $5000 fine.
SWAT app wants to help you keep a close eye on cops
After visiting Ferguson, Missouri recently, a pair of Georgetown students realized the need to access cellphone videos of police misconduct in the event a device is destroyed. With that in mind, Brandon Anderson and Joseph Gruenbaum set out to develop the SWAT app -- software that sends your footage to the cloud in the event your phone itself is confiscated or smashed. In addition to safely beaming videos to a server for later use, the app also allows you to file complaints without having to visit a police station. Plus, it'll tell you about your legal rights (using your GPS coordinates to determine the applicable jurisdiction). That way you can quickly read up on the proper local, state and federal laws should the need arise. The project is in its infancy, but there's no questioning its utility once it becomes a fully realized mobile app. For now, Anderson and Gruenbaum are looking for tech and legal partners to get the endeavor off the ground, and you can sign up to be a beta-tester at the source below.
Hackers' bomb threat allegedly reroutes SOE's president's plane
Hackers who implicated themselves in this weekend's PlayStation Network outage have apparently stepped up their attacks on Sony with a casual bomb threat made over Twitter that may have diverted a plane carrying SOE president John Smedley. In addition to tweeting several mocking threats about the flight as well as an image purporting to be Smed's e-ticket, the hacker account sent this message to American Airlines: .@AmericanAir We have been receiving reports that @j_smedley's plane #362 from DFW to SAN has explosives on-board, please look into this. Smed tweeted earlier today that his plane had been rerouted to Phoenix over "security reasons." Local news stations report that the FBI is investigating the threats. [Developing]
Hackers harass League of Legends livestreamer with DDoS attacks and police calls
A vendetta against a livestreamer has caused real-world havoc. A user or group identifying itself as DERP has targeted a popular Twitch streamer, calling the police on him and performing DDoS attacks against the games he was playing on December 30th. The streamer's name is James Varga, and according to reports, the games he was broadcasting were shut down by hackers performing distributed denial of service attacks. These games included League of Legends, Dota 2, and those through Battle.net. Varga continued to communicate with DERP during this time, and either DERP or a third party escalated matters by calling 911 and claiming that Varga was holding hostages in his home. Varga was then briefly detained while the police searched his home, but he was released without charges. This is similar to an incident earlier last month when a World of Warcraft livestreamer was arrested after someone called the police on him to interrupt his stream.
PAX 2011: On the (re)starting line with APB: Reloaded
There's nothing like a car crash to slow down traffic as everyone rubbernecks at someone else's misfortune. Likewise, gamers and media alike were fascinated with the premature demise of last year's All Points Bulletin, craning their heads to see how extensive the damage was. But out of the wreck a new and improved version of the game was born, and now the crowds are equally taking notice of this resurrection. Not every canceled MMO gets a second chance at life, after all. This is why we were glad to sit down with GamersFirst's Jon-Enee Merriex at PAX to discuss how APB's reloading is going, what the devs have planned between now and launch, and what other projects they're tackling. Put the pedal to the metal and hit that jump -- this interview can't drive 55!
Daryl Gates, ex-police chief and Police Quest: SWAT designer, dies at 83
According to Reuters, former Los Angeles chief of police Daryl Gates passed away at his home on Friday. Though Gates is probably best known for being forced out of his job as chief due to his handling of the Rodney King beating and ensuing riots in 1992, we at Joystiq remember him as the designer of Police Quest: SWAT, the fifth game in the Sierra series. (Gates also contributed to the previous game, Police Quest: Open Season). Okay, okay, so the FMV relic isn't particularly beloved, but Gates was also responsible for establishing the very first SWAT team -- a concept the video game industry has gotten so much mileage out of, we figured Gates was at least owed a moment of recognition. He was 83 years old.
Caption contest: Chinese S.W.A.T. team caught ridin' dirty... on Segways
Look, protecting the world from the terror of Jihadists is serious business -- which is why we're not sure that rolling up on a Segway is the best way to get the Axis of Evil to drop its weapon / bomb / fanatic mindset... still, Jackie Chan will be psyched. Our suggestion? the electric unicycle. Josh T: "Stop! Step out of the vehicle and agree to be my friend."Don: "Don't make me lean forward and come over there."Chris: "Do it... do it now! Get to the human transportah!"Josh F: "Snake? Snake?! SNAAAAAKE!"Ryan: "Watch yourself, Frank, we're dealing with professionals. They've got a... car."Darren: "So, um, is it safe to back away from this vehicle?"Richard: "Yes, this would be more intimidating from a Humvee, but y'know, gas prices these days..."Nilay: "Put the Roomba down!"Thomas: "Quit calling me Ginger, I'm a day walker!"[Thanks, Mike]
PSP Fanboy review: SWAT Target Liberty
How unfortunate that at the same time we received our review copy of SWAT: Target Liberty, we also received our review copy of Sony's upcoming SOCOM Tactical Strike. The differences between the two titles only accentuate SWAT's significant shortcomings. It's not a bad game per se, but when compared to other offerings in the PSP library, it doesn't offer much. Neither tactical enough to be a thinking man's shooter, nor action-packed to be a fun arcade shooter, Target Liberty falls somewhere in between, and fails to really engage the player.SWAT's convoluted story line takes place in a poorly-represented New York City. At first, players must engage warring Korean gangs that have civilians in the crossfire. Inexplicably, the fights will have you gunning through subway stations and office buildings in a search for a ... dirty bomb constructed by Islamic fundamentalists? The story is haphazardly constructed and does little more than magically transplant your team from one locale to the next.The main star of the game is Wolfe, and at his disposal are three squad mates (two of which can be used in each mission). Theoretically, you can change weapons and characters, but there's almost no compelling reason to do so. Each mission can be tackled with the same gear and the same characters, thereby greatly reducing the amount of "tactics" the game should have.%Gallery-5219%
SWAT trailers focus on weapons, mission briefing
The brand-new SWAT: Target Liberty is slowly sneaking towards the PSP. Planned to release next week, Sierra's tactical shooter brings back the franchise exclusively for the handheld. In the game, you'll have to carefully choose your weapons and stay true to the mission plan -- or else you'll find you and your squad members losing rather quickly.
Escort hostages in SWAT multiplayer
Pick up those VIPs, will you? Escort them to the top of the roof, in this new video of SWAT: Target Liberty's multiplayer. Interestingly, IGN's preview notes that the levels will be randomly generated, creating new experiences every time you play. The game seems fun, especially for those that want some isometric Killzone action. However, there is one to thing to note: these SWAT members don't seem to know how to run.
Interrogate this new SWAT footage
SWAT: Target Liberty, the upcoming PSP-exclusive tactical game, had a playable showing at Comic-Con, and now first footage of the game is available for you to view. These videos are surprisingly brutal, far more so than actual New York City cops. The game may look a little like Killzone Liberation, but it's clear that it'll play far differently. Check out another video of the game after the break.
Sierra offers playable SWAT and swag at Comic Con
Remotely interested in SWAT? How about free stuff? Sierra's joining the increasing list of publishers that will offer games at San Diego Comic Con. Visit Booth #3645 to play Sierra's upcoming games, including the PSP-exclusive SWAT: Target Liberty. Sierra's promising swag, so you may want to stop by.For everyone else, we have five new screenshots of the game in our gallery.%Gallery-5219%
SWAT: Target Liberty E3 trailer
With E3 coming up this week, developers are already starting to showcase their work. Such is the case with SWAT: Target Liberty, as you can see above. In a lot of ways, the trailer looks like an awful lot like Killzone: Liberation, only with a heavier emphasis on squad tactics. That's fine with us though, since Killzone: Liberation is still one of the best PSP games out there. The perspective also allows you to see what's going on up ahead, and easily plan your next move. Some of the previous SWAT titles received heavy critical praise, let's hope the same can happen for SWAT: Target Liberty when it's released.
New screens for SWAT: Target Liberty
While 3G Studios and Sierra still have the fall release date set, we can't help but continually perk our eyes and ears up when we get new details about SWAT: Target Liberty. The trailer was quite impressive. Earlier today, we noticed news about new screen shots, so we posted here to get fans something to drool over. Take a look the foliage peppered on the rock walls and the shadow details. And wait ... is that a pair of pants on the beam above? How did they get there? At any rate, do these new screens continue to capture your interest in the title? Or are you all SWATTed out?
New Memory Stick Entertainment Pack installs new movies
Sony is finally upgrading their long-forgotten "Memory Stick Entertainment Packs." These packs come with a bundled DVD that features four movies, pre-encoded for PSP playback. The previous pack came with the choice of cinematic masterpieces, such as The Grudge, S.W.A.T., Hitch, and XXX: State of the Union. Yeah ...According to IGN, the new MSX-M2GSEP model will feature a different collection of four movies: Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Spider-man 2, Hellboy and S.W.A.T. (again?) While the selection isn't too great, the sheer convenience is certainly appreciated. Unfortunately, the DVD can only be used to unlock one movie, so make sure you choose wisely.This package will be available at Sony Style stores for about $60. The package will also include a 2GB Memory Stick.[Thanks, Joel!]
