By msnbc.com staff and news services

Hacking group Anonymous said Thursday it knocked out the websites of the FBI, U.S. Department of Justice, and several entertainment industry sites as retribution for anti-piracy efforts by both the government and the entertainment industry. The group said it was "the largest attack ever," with 5,635 participants involved in bringing down the sites.

In addition to the FBI and DOJ, the Recording Industry of America, Motion Picture Association of America, Universal Music and BMI.com websites were also attacked. Said the DOJ in a statement: "The Department of Justice web server hosting justice.gov is currently experiencing a significant increase in activity, resulting in a degradation in service. The department is working to ensure the website is available while we investigate the origins of this activity, which is being treated as a malicious act until we can fully identify the root cause of the disruption."

An MPAA spokesman said, in an emailed statement to the AP, that despite the attack, the site was working by Thursday evening. "The motion picture and television industry has always been a strong supporter of free speech," the spokesman said. "We strongly condemn any attempts to silence any groups or individuals."

The RIAA confirmed its site had been attacked, but said it was operating normally by evening.

The FBI's site, as of 9 p.m. ET Thursday, was back up. About 45 minutes earlier, however, it could not be accessed and resulted in an error message:

The FBI.gov site could not be accessed at at 8:15 p.m. ET Thursday.

"Get some popcorn," Anonymous said on Twitter. "It's going to be a long lulzy night," indicating more was to come. "Lulz" is Internet slang for "laughs," and the hacking group LulzSec, or Lulz Security, is allied with Anonymous.

Anonymous' actions, its biggest in a single swoop, comes a day after an Internet protest against two proposed anti-piracy bills, the Stop Online Piracy Act, and the Protect IP Act, before Congress, and on the same day as a federal indictment of employees of a major Internet content-hosting site, Megaupload.com.

Universal Music's home page was not accessible Thursday afternoon.

Megaupload employees are accused of taking $500 million from copyright holders and generating $175 million in criminal proceeds via illegal downloads of films, music and other content, according to the indictment. Although the website is based in Hong Kong, some of the alleged pirated content was hosted on leased servers in Ashburn, Va., which gave federal authorities jurisdiction, the indictment said.

The Justice Department said in a statement said that Kim Dotcom, 37, and three other employees were arrested Thursday in New Zealand at the request of U.S. officials. Three other defendants are at large.

Before the site was taken down, it posted a statement saying allegations that it facilitated massive breaches of copyright laws were "grotesquely overblown."

"The fact is that the vast majority of Mega's Internet traffic is legitimate, and we are here to stay," the statement said. "If the content industry would like to take advantage of our popularity, we are happy to enter into a dialogue. We have some good ideas. Please get in touch."

Anonymous and LulzSec have taken down several private industry and government websites in the past year, largely through distributed denial-of-service attacks like the ones launched Thursday.

Members of Anonymous may have been particularly angered by the government action against Mega sites "which were massively popular among Anonymous’ young, copyright-flouting contingent of the Web," notes Andy Greenberg of Forbes.

Said Anonymous on Twitter: "Censors & copyright terrorists beware!"

Megaupload is considered a "cyberlocker," in which users can upload and transfer files that are too large to send by email. Such sites can have perfectly legitimate uses. But the MPAA, which has campaigned for a crackdown on piracy, estimated that the vast majority of content being shared on Megaupload was in violation of copyright laws.

According to the federal indictment, Megaupload was estimated at one point to be the 13th most frequently visited website on the Internet. Current estimates by companies that monitor Web traffic place it in the top 100. The site has 150 million registered users. Megaupload allowed users to download films, TV shows, games, music and other content for free, but made money by charging subscriptions to people who wanted access to faster download speeds or extra content. The website also sold advertising.

Megaupload was unique not only because of its massive size and the volume of downloaded content, but also because it had high-profile support from celebrities, musicians and other content producers who are most often the victims of copyright infringement and piracy. Before the website was taken down, it contained endorsements from Kim Kardashian, Alicia Keys and Kanye West, among others.

The Justice Department said it was illegal for anyone to download pirated content, but that its investigation is focused on the leaders of the company, not users who may have downloaded a few movies for personal viewing.

Congress is weighing anti-piracy legislation largely backed by the entertainment industry and opposed by the tech world for the way it would alter the Internet and companies' roles in policing it. Wikipedia led the way Wednesday with an Internet blackout, while other websites, including Google, provided links to online petitions against the bills. Some senators and members of Congress did pull their support because of the protest. Both bills are due to be considered in the next several weeks.

On Thursday, Mitch McConnell, Republican leader in the Senate, asked the Senate majority to reconsider the Protect IP Act bill before moving ahead with it because of the "serious issues" with the legislation.

(Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and Comcast/NBC Universal. Comcast/NBC Universal is listed as a supporter of the Stop Online Piracy Act on the House Judiciary Committee website. Microsoft itself said it opposes SOPA as it is "currently drafted.")

Related stories:

• In wake of Web blackout, SOPA/PIPA support weakens
• Anonymous targets Israel as it joins war between hackers
• Anonymous exposes German neo-Nazis
• Anonymous hackers target US security think tank
• Suspected LulzSec hacker arrested in Sony breach
• Anonymous hacks Monsanto computers; posts employee info

Al-Manar is Hezbollah's "media arm," says the group seeking to have it and other terrorist-related groups removed from Twitter.

An Israeli law center said Thursday it is threatening to sue Twitter unless the social network cuts off access to groups, including Hezbollah, that are considered terrorist organizations by the United States.

The law center, Shurat HaDin, describes itself as being "dedicated to enforcing basic human rights through the legal system," and says it has represented "victims of terrorism in courtrooms around the world."

In a letter to San Francisco-based Twitter, attorney and Shurat HaDin executive director Nitsana Darshan-Leitner wrote that "it has come to our attention that Twitter, Inc. provides social media and associated services" to such groups as Hezbollah and the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Shabaab — labeled as "foreign terrorist organizations" (or FTOs) by the United States.

"Please be advised that providing social media and other associated services to terrorist groups is illegal and will expose Twitter, Inc. and its officers to both criminal prosecution and civil liability to American citizens and others victimized by terrorisms carried out by Hezbollah, Al-Shabaab or other FTOs."

Shurat HaDin specifically contends that Twitter's service goes against a 2010 Supreme Court case declaring unlawful "any assistance or support" to terrorist organizations. 

The law center, which has a New York office, wants Twitter to "immediately provide us written confirmation" that it will "permanently" discontinue access to Hezbollah, "Al-Manar TV, Al-Shabaab and any other FTOs ... Absent such confirmation, we will seek all available relief and remedies against Twitter, Inc. in all relevant jurisdictions."

A spokesman for Twitter said the company does not have any comment about the potential lawsuit or the issue of allowing access to the groups. But it has long made a point of saying it does not take political sides, and favors free speech.

The short-messaging microblog network, which limits posts to 140 characters, has come under fire in recent months for being used as a tool for disruption. Some disruption is considered positive, such as the role Twitter played in helping to foment the Arab Spring. But not all disruption is lauded.

Twitter, as well as Facebook and RIM's BlackBerry phones, were all cited by British officials as the means for coordinating flash mobs and rioting last summer in Britain. More recently, in the U.S., Sen. Joe Lieberman, (I-Conn.), chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, is leading an effort to get Twitter to block some accounts that are pro-Taliban.

The site, in operation for five years, has been the frequent target of legal action by activist groups and celebrities seeking to stop or pull down information they don't like. It generally refuses unless the account in question misrepresents itself as belonging to someone else.
 
Otherwise, Twitter says, it will comply only with legal U.S. court orders, and it has often clashed with law enforcement agencies that seek to go further.
 
In January, Twitter successfully appealed the Justice Department's decision to keep under seal a subpoena for account records of a member of the Icelandic Parliament with ties to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
 
Earlier Thursday, Twitter was ordered to hand over information about the account of a user active in the Occupy Boston protests. The case came to public attention after the company refused prosecutors' request to keep the subpoena secret and alerted the account holder that his information was being sought

Twitter has more than 100 million active users around the world who say they use the free service at least once a month.

An analyst at the Center for Naval Analysis, Will McCants, told NPR this week there is no research so far that shows terrorists are getting many new recruits via social media like Twitter.

"Social media is interesting as a new outlet for terrorist groups, but in terms of achieving al-Qaida's goal or the Taliban's goal of creating new recruits. ... I think it is a complete disaster," he said.

But, said Darshan-Leitner in the Shurat HaDin press release, Hezbollah "and its terrorist networks have entered the global world of social media to further their murderous agenda. Twitter’s complicit service to known foreign terrorist organizations is not only morally irresponsible, it is also illegal. Twitter needs to take responsibility for the platform it is providing to known terrorists and cease and desist immediately. Their failure to do so exposes them to severe liability."

Shurat HaDin practices what it calls "Pro-Israel Lawfare." It partners with lawyers in countries around the world to sue governments, financial institutions and companies that it says knowingly or unknowingly assist anti-Israeli terrorist organizations.
 
The group's mission, it says, is to "bankrupt the terror groups and grind their criminal activities to a halt — one lawsuit at a time."

In February, Darshan-Leitner was co-counsel in an action brought by five readers who sued former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his publishers for $5 million, alleging that in his 2006 book, "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid," Carter made "false and knowingly misleading statements intended to promote the author's agenda of anti-Israel propaganda."

The case, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, was dropped in May.
 
In September, Darshan-Leitner threatened to sue about 150 U.S. colleges for allegedly refusing to fight anti-Semitism on their campuses.

Msnbc.com's M. Alex Johnson contributed to this report.

Related stories:

• Saudi prince buys $300 million Twitter stake
• #Egypt tops 2011 Twitter hashtags
• UK sets Aug. 25 to meet with social networks about riot role
• Follow the Taliban — now on Twitter
• Power of Twitter, Facebook in Egypt crucial, says U.N. rep

Check out Technolog, Gadgetbox, Digital Life and In-Game on Facebook, and on Twitter, follow Suzanne Choney.

Adam Rose / AP

Nawal Aoude, a pediatric respiratory therapist, left, and her husband Nader go for a walk in a scene from the TLC series, "All-American Muslim." The series features five families from Dearborn, Mich., a city near Detroit with one of the highest concentrations of Arab descendants in the country.

By Matt Liebowitz

SecurityNewsDaily

A conservative Florida organization's opposition to the reality show "All-American Muslim" has stirred up a storm of controversy that's got Lowe's, a Muslim rights group, travel website Kayak, actor Kal Penn and the hacktivist group Anonymous all choosing sides.

Tuesday, the Tampa-based Florida Family Association told the St. Petersburg Times that its website was hacked by a member of Anonymous. FFA executive director David Caton said the attack shut down the FFA site, leaving a message saying that the site destroys free speech. (The site is back online.)

"In a country that supposedly embraces free speech, those that oppose our position have no qualms about destroying our free speech," Caton said. "This is the worst I've seen any group respond."

[Anonymous Hacktivists Attack 'God Hates Fags' Websites]

The online takedown comes after the FFA, citing what it called "All-American Muslim's" anti-American agenda and Islamic "propaganda," persuaded the home-improvement chain Lowe's to pull its ads from the TLC cable channel show.

The backlash from Lowe's compliance with the FFA riled the Council on American-Islamic Relations as well as "Harold and Kumar" star Kal Penn, hip-hop forefather Russell Simmons and California Sen. Ted Liu, who told the Associated Press, "The show is about what it's like to be a Muslim in America, and it touches on the discrimination they sometimes face. And that kind of discrimination is exactly what's happening here at Lowe's."

A Dec. 11 post on the file-hosting site Pastebin credits the hack to Anonymous and AntiSec, an offshoot of the Anonymous and LulzSec hacking groups that targets large organizations and government corruption.

Along with exposing the email and IP addresses of 33 FFA newsletter recipients and donors, the credit card type and card verification numbers of 13 more and the usernames and passwords of three FFA site administrators, the hacker, identified on his Twitter feed only as "ihazCAnNONz," condemned the conservative group for its "hatred, bigotry and fear mongering towards gays, lesbians and most recently Muslim Americans."

"Anonymous will not stand for hate and divisive vitriol to be spread across our country and whenever we can...we will stop it..." the hacker wrote. "FFA you managed to use your power to influence Lowe's to follow you into your racist stupor and they too will answer for that."

The FFA's influence reached beyond Lowe's; the travel website Kayak also decided to stop running ads on "All-American Muslim" when the show returns next month.

In a press release issued Wednesday, Kayak explained its position.

"We decided to advertise on it in the first place because we adamantly support tolerance and diversity," Robert Birge, Kayak's chief marketing officer, wrote, adding, "When we decided to give our money to TLC for this program, we deemed the show a worthy topic."

Birge said that TLC was "not upfront" about the nature of the show. He didn't elaborate, but said part of Kayak's decision was based on the quality of the show, not its message.

"I watched the first two episodes," Birge wrote. "Mostly, I just thought the show sucked."

More stories from SecurityNewsDaily:

• 10 Ways the Government Watches You
• Anonymous Hackers Take Down Child Porn Websites, Leak Users' Names 
• 2012 Privacy Software Review

By Rehema Ellis
NBC News

From the moment you walk into the Waldorf School of the Peninsula there are clear signs that something different is happening.

Allysun Sokolowski, a third-grade teacher,  greets each one of her 29 students by name and shakes their hand as they enter the classroom. It's easy for her because she's known these kids at the Los Altos, Calif., school for a while.

"I've been teaching the same children from first grade, second grade and now we're in third grade. And I will teach these children all the way through eighth grade," she said.

It's the Waldorf way.

Teachers establish a strong bond with students. As a result, Waldorf teachers quickly point out there's no need for tests or grades.

"I don't need grades to know how well they're doing," said Sokolowski. "I know their strengths, I know their weaknesses. I know what will be hard for them and where they will shine. I'm their teacher with a capital 't.'"

The intense student-teacher connection might help explain why students from elementary to high school are thriving. The school boasts a nearly perfect graduation rate.

Despite being in the heart of Silicon Valley, Waldorf students are not caught up in the gadget frenzy that has consumed so many other school children nationwide. Computers are not used in the elementary school and they are used sparingly at the high school level. Teachers say they're not anti-technology, but, as they put it, they're just in favor of healthy education.

Read the New York Times’ report on the Waldorf school

"I'm concerned that if we say we need technology to engage students we're missing the fact that what engages students is good teachers and good teaching," said Lisa Babinet, a Waldorf math teacher.

I asked a group of high school students if they misssed having computers and iPads as part of their lessons they all emphatically said "No."

"I don't think we're gonna be left behind at all because it's not like we're not a part of technology at all," said sophomore Isabelle Senteno. "We are a part of it, we just don't incorporate it in the lessons."

Jack Pelose, a freshman who transferred to Waldorf from a school that used a lot of technology, said he noticed the benefits of not using computers in class. "My cursive has gotten a lot better since I've been here," he said.

"Everything about technology is so easy to pick up and use nowadays," added senior Zach Wurtz added. "The companies design it so anyone can use it when they choose to."

The students talked about being annoyed sometimes when they hang out with friends who are not Waldorf students, who spend a lot of time on social networking sites and texting.

Video: At another Silicon Valley school, iPads are in vogue

One Waldorf student said he sometimes has to ask his friends to put down the gadgets so they can just talk.

And if you're wondering, like I did, how the Waldorf education translates in the outside world, Laila Waheed, a graduate now in her first year of college, offered some insight.

Waheed, 18, has a laptop but never takes it to lectures. She takes notes by hand -- like she did at Waldorf -- and she later transfers her notes into her computer. It's a form of studying, she said.

"If you stood at the back of the classroom and looked at every screen, at least half of them would be on Facebook," Waheed said of all the other students who are typing away on their laptops during lectures.

"A Waldorf education gives you a foundation to say, 'OK, I can put my phone in my bag. I can have a half-an-hour conversation with a person. I don't need to be totally connected all the time,'" Waheed said. "And that's more valuable for making personal connections that will last longer than the next text you're going to get."

It sounds like something a Waldorf student would say. But it’s also a sentiment echoed by her father, an engineer manager at Cisco.

"I don't think anyone is debating the value of technology and the use of computers," Muneer Waheed said. "There is no going back. This is the future."

But he and his wife have been clear about wanting the mostly technology-free zone that Waldorf provides for their two children.

"They need the environment and the foundation to develop and get their core values -- the love of education and their own passion," he said. "That's what's going to stay with them. The computer is just a tool."

See more of Rehema Ellis' reporting on NBC's Nightly News with Brian Williams Wednesday evening.

Messages and information about pet rescue is shown on the Humane Society's Twitter page.

Several organizations are helping victims of Hurricane Irene. Here's how you can help:

• The American Red Cross. You can use your cellphone to send donations of $10 via text message to the agency. Text the word REDCROSS to 90999. Donations can also be mailed to local Red Cross chapters, or to: American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013. (For more information about getting help from the Red Cross, visit this site.)
• The Salvation Army. Text the word"STORM" to 80888 to make a $10 donation via cellphone. Or, donate online or by phone: 1-800-SAL-ARMY.
• The Humane Society of the United States is on Twitter, as well, with up-to-date info on pet and animal assistance, including shelters that are available in areas affected by Irene. You can donate by visiting the society's website.
• AmeriCares, which provides emergency medicine and supplies, accepts donations on its website. Phone: 1-800-486-4357.
• Habitat for Humanity, which helps rebuild homes, accepts donations on its website.
• Feeding America is seeking volunteers to work in food banks. You can also donate money and learn more about volunteering here.
• Operation Blessing provides disaster relief, food, water and medical supplies, and is based in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
• Operation USA accepts online donations. You can make a $10 donation by sending a text message with the word AID to 50555. Phone: 1-800-678-7255.
• Direct Relief, which provides "Hurricane Preparation Packs" of medicine and medical supplies, is accepting donations on its website. Phone: 805-964-4767.
• Microsoft Disaster Response. "While the impacts of Hurricane Irene will become more clear in the coming days, Microsoft is actively involved in preparations and providing support for customers, partners, local government, and nonprofit agencies," the company says on the site. (Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC Universal.)
•  Food Bank for Greater New York food program locator to donate extra food and water you stocked up on in anticipation of Hurricane Irene.

Guidance for you
To help you make decisions about donations, one website to use as a resource is Charity Navigator, a non-profit organization that has information on more than 5,000 charities and evaluates the groups' financial health.

And while giving is good, beware of those out there who are not good and are trying to scam you by taking your money over the Internet and using e-mail. The Federal Trade Commission"cautions that scammers may try to take advantage of a disaster, and so consumers should be wary of urgent appeals for charitable donations, and watch out for fraudulent home repair schemes after a storm."

You can read more about avoiding home repair rip-offs and charity fraud from the FTC.

Also, the FBI, on its Facebook page, reminds folks "to beware of fraudulent e-mails and websites claiming to conduct charitable relief efforts. Disasters prompt individuals with criminal intent to solicit contributions purportedly for a charitable organization or a good cause," and suggests reading "Tips on Avoiding Fraudulent Charitable Contribution Schemes" to learn more about avoiding online fraud.

Related stories:

• How to use social media during Hurricane Irene
• Mobile apps to help in a hurricane
• Get support and info on Hurricane Irene network
• How to track Hurricane Irene online
• Social media: Communication hub for disasters?

Facebook

Updated Saturday, 7 p.m. ET

You don't have to go too far from home — or may not be able to — to find out what you need to know about Hurricane Irene, or to connect with the people you care about. Facebook and Twitter have a lot of help to offer, as they have in previous disasters. Here are some handy starting points:

Facebook
— Check the state resources page with direct website links to emergency departments of the states affected by Irene, although bear in mind, as of late Friday, a few were missing. "Please post Maryland and New York as soon as you can!" wrote one person on the "wall." (Here are those two states' emergency websites: New York and Maryland.)

— The American Red Cross and Federal Emergency Management Agency also have their own Facebook pages.

— The federal Department of Homeland Security page, which includes information such as this: "Find a shelter: Text SHELTER + your ZIP code to 43362. Relay this message via text to family & friends impacted that might have lost power."

— The Global Disaster Relief page is meant to be a "hub for preparedness, response and relief information," which will be continually updated, said a Facebook spokesman.

On Saturday, Facebook also added two new tabs on that page: "One is a Resource Center and the other is a 'Share Your Story' tab that lets people share how they've used Facebook to prepare, respond, provide relief," said a Facebook spokesman.

— Hurricane Irene Community page is a kind of blog-style newsfeed of storm-related news.

— The National Weather Service page for forecasts and hurricane tracking.

— The FBI, on its Facebook page, reminds folks "to beware of fraudulent e-mails and websites claiming to conduct charitable relief efforts. Disasters prompt individuals with criminal intent to solicit contributions purportedly for a charitable organization or a good cause," and suggests reading "Tips on Avoiding Fraudulent Charitable Contribution Schemes" to learn more about avoiding online fraud.

Facebook has also created a tip sheet for how to better use your personal settings before, during and after a disaster. Among the recommendations: After a disaster, let your friends and family know you're all right by going to the Red Cross' Safe and Well site.

From that site you can update your Facebook and Twitter status to let your loved ones and friends know that you are safe. Alert those in your social networking circles of your status. A quick post of “I’m ok” or using the hashtag #imok will be sufficient.

Twitter
You can use the hashtag #irene to follow any tweets about the storm. (Try not to confuse # and @ — @irene is not a tropical cyclone, she's a person.)

Also check the always-changing "trending" list on Twitter's home page to see what new hashtags have cropped up that may be of help or of interest. Among those that were trending on Saturday, for example: #East Coast, #NYIrene and #IrenePets.

Twitter

Twitter's "Fast Follow" feature for phones.

Here are some recommended Twitter accounts to follow, as suggested by the short-messaging blog, which limits posts to 140 characters:

— @twc_hurricane: The Weather Channel’s hurricane central account shares the latest updates on Irene’s location.

— @NYCMayorsOffice: Official info for New Yorkers on evacuations, transportation and more.

— @FEMA and @CraigatFEMA: Preparation tips and the latest updates on Hurricane #Irene. FEMA also has a Twitter page here.

—  American Red Cross Twitter page; @RedCross

— The Humane Society of the United States is on Twitter, as well, with up-to-date info on pet and animal assistance.

Twitter also suggests a few text-message features you might want to put into place on your phone before Irene arrives, so that you can still get information if you wind up losing power or mobile Internet:

Fast Follow: Use this feature as "the quickest way to begin receiving updates from a Twitter source on your mobile device. You do not need to sign up for a Twitter account in order to receive updates directly to your mobile phone. For example, to follow FEMA (@fema), all you need to do is text ‘follow fema’ to 40404" in the United States. You can do the same with any Twitter account by sending the text message of "Follow (username)" to 40404. You can learn more about Fast Follow here.

Set SMS alerts: "From your computer, wherever you see a user on Twitter.com, you can hover over their name or avatar, and click on the phone icon that appears in the hovercard. Whenever they tweet, you'll get it as an SMS message on your phone."

You can learn more about Fast Follow and Set SMS Alerts here.

Both Twitter and Facebook are incredibly valuable during times like these; be sure to take advantage of what they have to offer.

"Wherever and whenever disaster strikes, we are reminded of the Internet’s critical role in connecting the world’s population," said a Facebook spokesman Friday. "Just as millions of people flocked to Facebook after recent earthquakes devastated Haiti and Japan and tornadoes ripped across the Midwest, people are once again using our platform to prepare for Hurricane Irene as it barrels toward the East Coast."

Related stories:

• How to track Hurricane Irene online
• No smartphone for Irene? You can still use Twitter, Facebook
• Get support and info on Hurricane Irene network
• Mobile apps to help in a hurricane
• Hey Irene, can you hear me now?
• Smartphones, tablets can be a port in the storm
• Social media: Communication hub for disasters?

Check out Technolog, Gadgetbox, Digital Life and In-Game on Facebook, and on Twitter, follow Suzanne Choney.