This is a follow-through with the story that we had on "Swatting" which is prank causing havoc in local law enforcement organizations as they waste tens of thousands of dollars in police resources responding to prank calls about violent crimes made by untraceable hackers or script kiddies. Apart from the waste resources, "Swatting" can become dangerous as any false move of individuals in a situation can result into a lethal response from a SWAT unit from which the term "Swatting" is derived from.

VICE looks into the increasing militarization of Police forces in the U.S. as nowadays you cannot almost distinguish a police SWAT from a military person as they SWAT units and other police forces are receiving surplus equipment from the U.S. Military as involvement they return from engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan. All the excess equipment, ranging from high-powered rifles, to surveillance equipment, to armored vehicles that can withstand IED explosions are now getting into the hands of police forces that ask for them via grants from federal agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security.

"Swatting" became known when pranksters sent SWAT units and other first responders to the homes of celebrities and politicians. We also mentioned about a family that became a victim of Swatting in Long Island, New York when a sore loser in a Call of Duty game called in the SWAT to the victim's home reporting to 911 that he killed his brother and mother.

It is understandable that the response of the police is very armed given that the situation reported might entail an armed response and thus the potential for casualties so that not even ambulances and paramedics are called in. But with the rising Swatting incidents, VICE wonders if such a heavily armed response is entailed each time a violent crime is reported to emergency call services. One thing for sure: while the SWAT teams and police departments in the U.S. are some of the best-equipped in the world, sadly, they are ill-equipped against hackers who can waste their time and resources at will. A more intelligent response is required so as not to send armed police units and an entourage of vehicles, media, and medical personnel on wild goose chase.

But the battle against hackers is a perpetual thing, as they always are a step ahead of those tasked to find them. They will need to be able to response and find the hacker so as he or she can be stopped from doing it again. Thus, they will need to develop their own cybersecurity responses as quickly as possible. 911 callers will have to need the technology or process to be able to ascertain if a call about a violent crime happening is either genuine or a swatting prank. Now, that will be a tough thing to implement.

We can always advise young people not to resort to Swatting when bored or wanting to get even. But the problem of Script Kiddies is one thing that even the Hacker community is having a hard time to prevent from wrecking havoc on public services and personal lives of people. Script Kiddies rarely are concerned about ethical hacking as they usually do these pranks just for kicks. The battle between highly trained and dangerous SWAT teams against teenagers who have access to hacking tools will continue on.