- Swatting
In the field of information security, swatting is an attempt to trick an emergency service (such as a
911 operator ) to dispatch an emergency response team. The name is derived from SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics ), one type of such team.History and current status
Swatting has its origins in prank calls to emergency services. Increasing sophistication of the techniques employed and the objectives, notably attempts to direct response units of particular types, and in particular attempts to cause SWAT teams to be dispatched to particular locations, spawned the term "swatting". The term may have been coined by the
FBI , which investigates these activities.Techniques
Caller ID spoofing , social engineering,prank call and phonephreaking techniques may be combined. 911 systems (including telephony and human operators) have been tricked by calls placed from cities hundreds of miles away.fact|date=May 2008External links
[http://dallas.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel07/fraud113007.htm DOJ - Swatters plead guilty to conspiracy]
[http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Top_News/2008/02/04/fbi_catches_five_swatters/7930 FBI Catches Five Swatters]
[http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/24714 FBI warns emergency 911 swatters are a growing menace]
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYAoPyyWYjQ&feature=related Swatting - a dangerous new game (KSBW TV clip at YouTube)]
[http://antiworm.blogspot.com/2008/02/swatting-911-and-emergency-response.html Swatting - 911 and telephony systems are defective]ee also
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Computer insecurity
*Defensive computing
*In-band signaling
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