A few weeks ago, in my colleague Lysa Myers’ blog Hacking Vital Infrastructure, she mentioned how some in the general public seem to believe that situations (like the one demonstrated in the video created by the Department of Homeland Security) are just conspiracy theories. The story I read tonight, although not as dire, is another example of how a hacker can infiltrate a vital U.S. system and wreak havoc.

A 19-year-old computer-hacking prankster from Washington state faces 18 years in prison because he evidently thought it would be funny to hack into the Orange County, California’s 9-1-1 emergency system, spoof his number, and fabricate a story that sent a heavily armed SWAT Team storming into an innocent California family’s home.

“The caller goes from a drug overdose to talking about shooting someone,” said Sgt. Mike McHenry, who led the investigation. “Then it changes again saying that he’s been shot in the shoulder by his sister and that he just shot and killed her and would shoot anyone who came near.”

“They surrounded the home, inside were a husband and wife and their two toddlers,” said Farrah Emami, a spokeswoman with the Orange County District Attorney’s office. “The husband heard rustling outside of his home and believed it to be a prowler. He took a knife and went into the backyard. Instead of finding a prowler he found a SWAT team pointing assault rifles at him. It really easily could have escalated into an innocent person being killed,” she added. “We’re lucky that they didn’t shoot him.”

The prank (called “swatting”) cost an estimated US$18,000 and was only one of almost 200 such calls he made all over the United States through the years. Luckily, this kid was just a juvenile delinquent instead of someone with more serious malicious intent.
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