Security News > 2024 > January > CISA boss swatted: 'While my own experience was certainly harrowing, it was unfortunately not unique'

CISA Director Jen Easterly has confirmed she was the subject of a swatting attempt on December 30 after a bogus report of a shooting at her home.

One of the most troubling trends we have seen in recent years has been the harassment of public officials across the political spectrum, including extreme incidents involving swatting and direct personal threats.

These incidents pose a serious risk to the individuals, their families, and in the case of swatting, to the law enforcement officers responding to the situation.

Swatting - calling in a hoax an emergency report for a serious crime to bring heavily armed law enforcement officers onto the scene can sometimes turn deadly, as was the case with a Kansas man who was killed by police in 2017 when a California gamer made a fake emergency call after a dispute over a Call of Duty session.

The CISA declined to answer questions about who was behind the crime or why Easterly was targeted.

Other calls have targeted judges overseeing cases against Trump, Democratic and Republican politicians of both parties, a prosecutor, the White House, and state capital buildings in at least eight states.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/23/cisa_easterly_swatted/