Thursday 12 February 2015

Swatting is a trust issue

Swatting - the practise of calling in fake anonymous tips to the police to get someone's house raided by a SWAT team - is a security issue, at its core, because it hinges on an abuse of implicit trust. The police trust that an anonymous tip is completely genuine and so urgent that they can't delay acting on it. That trust should not be so easily manipulated. By all means, act on anonymous tips, but it needs to take more than "I'm not telling you who I am but there are guns and drugs at this address and they know you're coming". Maybe send someone around to look the place over first, or quickly check whether the area has seen any bad activity lately. Don't just rush off at the first hint of a chance to use your ex-military tanks and grenade launchers.

Mokalus of Borg

PS - We do still need the ability to call in anonymous tips, though.
PPS - I just think the police need to be more careful with them.

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