In recent years, a chilling trend has emerged, combining the chaos of swatting with the tragic reality of actual active shooter attacks. These acts of violence and disruption have shifted from isolated incidents to systemic threats targeting schools, businesses, political figures, and even faith-based organizations. In this blog, I’ll attempt to explore the underlying issues, new technology now readily available to help mitigate these risks, and the legislative and societal responses required to address this growing crisis.
Swatting History: From Prank to Crisis
Swatting began as a malicious prank, often within online gaming communities, where players would report fake emergencies at their opponent’s location to law enforcement. The premise was to prompt an armed police SWAT Team response. The primary intent was to broadcast it over the internet live. Over time, as vulnerabilities in the 911 networks were exposed, the practice evolved into a broader disruption tool. The attacks have moved from personal to organizational, often targeting schools, businesses, and, most recently, faith-based organizations. Attacks on targeted individuals still occur, with most recent attempts focused on political figures on both sides of the aisle being targeted.
A Growing Problem
Swatting has become alarmingly common, making headlines numerous times a week and several times a day. The motives for each attack still vary but typically fall into one or more of the three primary categories—disruption, intimidation, or political statements.
- Educational Disruption: Schools continue to face swatting calls reporting fake bomb threats and active shooter incidents. These are highly emotional and lead to massive disruption from the resulting lockdowns, not to mention the trauma for students and staff believing there is a level of reality to the threat, and the tens of thousands of dollars spent on Public safety resources required to process the event, real or fake. A security analysis firm in Florida estimated that Florida’s more than 1500 incidents cost taxpayers more than $48,000 for each response, or over $73,000,000 just this past year.
- Business Interruption: Corporations lose productivity and credibility when their operations are halted due to false emergency reports. This can easily lower the sensitivity to incidents by Public Safety, using the “cry wolf” syndrome.
- Political Targets: Swatting has become a weaponized tool in political disputes, creating fear and endangering lives. This year, during, and just post of the election, representatives from both aisles were attacked.
The FBI Steps In
Recognizing the severe implications of swatting and its impact on Public Safety 911 centers, the FBI continues to ramp up efforts to track and prosecute perpetrators, Advanced digital forensics are helping law enforcement identify and apprehend offenders, even internationally. However, the challenge remains substantial due to the level of anonymity that online platforms can provide.
The Intersection of Swatting and Active Shooter Attacks
One of the most concerning aspects of swatting is its overlap with actual active shooter scenarios. Psychologically, an active shooter event reported at a school will appeal to the sense of fear, compassion, and helplessness of the small, innocent children involved. This sense of urgency will draw out unpredictable emotional responses and have the potential for the first responder to disregard their training, further escalating the urgency.
False reports of active shooters are among the most common types of swatting incidents, and most recently have been accentuated by the inclusion of Computer-generated background sound effects, adding an overall sense of realism. This can make it nearly impossible for emergency responders to distinguish between hoaxes and genuine threats without verifiable additional information.
With many swatting incidents being false alarms, some are, in fact, real. This leaves the only solution is to treat every incident as 100% authentic and send all the appropriate resources all of the time. Unfortunately, that just isn’t physically or financially sustainable, and a solution needs to be found to improve the response.
Despite recent technology advancements, most systems today operate in a reactive and not in a proactive mode. Incident detection occurs only after the incident has occurred. There is a critical need for technology as well as protocols to be examined to ensure proactive measures to not only deter but also are being implemented in order to prevent violence before it begins.
Faith-Based Organizations: A Growing Target
Recently, several faith-based organizations have increasingly found themselves in the crosshairs of both swatting attacks in addition to real acts of violence directed against them. Incidents have spurred several organizations to reassess their security protocols and invest in advanced security technologies not normally found in houses of worship. Still, many remain vulnerable.
Last week in Northern California, a lone gunman targeted children at a Christian elementary school. In this incident, two students were critically injured, with the gunman being killed. The attack was reported to be specific to this particular religious group, and underscores the dual threat faith-based organizations face: false alarms designed to create complacency and the chaos real attacks that are motivated by hatred or ideology cause.
Broadening the Threat
While certain religious groups have historically been typical ‘high-value targets’ due to current geopolitical tensions, the rise in swatting and real attacks has expanded the horizon of the threat landscape to include the full range of faith-based organizations, who have not had to deal with these terroristic attacks, and remain unprepared technologically, and operationally from a training perspective.
Migrating Toward a Comprehensive Solution
Solving the intertwined problems of swatting and active shooter attacks requires a multi-faceted approach involving technology, policy, and public awareness that can provide valuable situational awareness and the validation of real threats, while deescalating others.
Proactive Detection
Preventative technologies are now available at reasonable costs that can offer hope for identifying and verifying threats before they escalate:
- Millimeter-Wave Scanners: These can detect concealed weapons, providing early warning of potential attackers before they enter buildings .
- Facial Recognition Systems: By identifying known threats, these systems can trigger alerts before an incident occurs.
- License Plate Readers: These can identify unauthorized vehicles entering a property, prompting security checks and further observation.
Correlation and Confidence Scoring
Combining multiple detection mechanisms increases the reliability of threat assessments. For example:
- An unknown license plate entering a property may warrant monitoring.
- Facial recognition identifying a banned individual exiting the vehicle escalates the threat level.
- Millimeter-wave detection of a weapon provides definitive evidence of an imminent attack.
Each layer of detection contributes to a confidence score, enabling security teams to make informed decisions and respond appropriately.
Integrated Emergency Event Management
While technology provides critical tools for detection and verification, effective incident management remains essential. Advanced notification and alerting systems must integrate with local law enforcement and on-site security to ensure a coordinated response.
Legislative and Societal Responses
Technology can assist, but by itself, it cannot solve this crisis. Stronger legislative measures and societal changes are needed to deter swatting and reduce violence.
Legal Reforms
- Mandatory Penalties: Swatting should review current consequences, including compulsory incarceration of extenuating circumstances and restitution requirements.
- Data Privacy Regulations: Revised controls on platforms can limit the anonymity that currently enables swatting incidents.
- Funding for Security: Grants and subsidies can assist schools, businesses, and faith-based organizations invest in advanced security technologies.
Public Awareness
Raising awareness about the dangers of swatting and the importance of security measures can drive community support for preventative initiatives.
A Shared Responsibility
The dual threats of swatting and active shooter attacks demand a unified response from individuals, organizations, and governments alike. By leveraging advanced technology and updated policies, enacting robust legislation, and fostering public awareness, we can create safer environments for everyone.
The tragedy in Northern California serves as a stark reminder of what is at stake. It is time to move beyond reactive measures and embrace proactive solutions that save lives and protect communities.
Author’s Note: If you or your organization are exploring security solutions, consider engaging a consultant with technology and law enforcement expertise in emergency event management. Policy, training, and technology integration can be used in unison to craft the proper response profile for your organization. Working together with the right experts, a safer future can be built.
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