Man held over hacking of PlayStation and Xbox Live services

Authorities in Britain arrested an 18-year-old man accused of computer hacking offences related to days of disruption on Sony’s PlayStation Network and Microsoft’s Xbox Live services last year.

Police said he was also arrested in connection with false threats in the United States — a practice known as “swatting,” or providing false information suggesting that a threat exists so that police respond with SWAT teams. Authorities declined to say where in the US the alleged offence occurred.

Craig Jones, head of the police cybercrime unit that handled the arrest, the “swatting” allegation involves “law enforcement forces in the United States receiving hoax calls via Skype for a major incident in which SWAT teams were dispatched.”