An urgent warning for smart home device owners after a “swatting” spree in which hackers accessed a dozen Ring home security door cameras nationwide. The hackers placed false emergency calls designed to elicit an armed police response.
Swatting and its dangers
“Swatting” is a term that refers to someone making a bogus call to emergency services in an attempt to elicit an armed police response.
Swatting presents a danger to both the victims and law enforcement. Both officers and the targets of the swatting can be hurt or killed as both try to defend themselves.
There are numerous cases in which people have died as a result of a false report from swatting. Here are a few instances…
28-year-old Andrew Finch died in 2017 when he was fatally shot by law enforcement.
Tennessee grandfather Mark Herring died of a heart attack in April 2020 after the police swarmed his house in response to a fake report of a murder.
Impersonating the victim
The person making the false report has gained access to the victim’s address or other personal information. Some hackers may access a smart device or computer in the person’s home, making it appear as if the report actually came from the victim.
Hackers use IP cloaking techniques to hide their identity in order to make completely anonymous and false emergency reports, making it hard to track down who is responsible.
Pair accessed Ring cameras and falsely sent armed cops to homes nationwide
Authorities arrested two men on Monday who are accused of participating in a swatting spree while livestreaming the events on social media, according to federal prosecutors.
According to the indictment, Kya Christian Nelson, 21, of Racine, Wisconsin, and James Thomas Andrew McCarty, 20, of Charlotte, North Carolina, allegedly gained access to home security door cameras sold by Ring LLC, a home security technology company, after acquiring the username and password information for Yahoo email accounts belonging to victims throughout the United States.
In one of the swatting incidents, after accessing Yahoo and Ring accounts belonging to a California victim, Nelson and an accomplice allegedly placed a hoax telephone call to the West Covina Police Department, purporting to originate from the victim’s residence. They posed as a minor child and reported her parents drinking and shooting guns inside the residence, according to the allegations in the court papers.
Prosecutors said similar incidents occurred in Flat Rock, Michigan; Redding, California; Billings, Montana; Decatur, Georgia; Chesapeake, Virginia; Rosenberg, Texas; Oxnard, California; Darien, Illinois; Huntsville, Alabama; North Port, Florida; and Katy, Texas, Fox reported.
Nelson and McCarty were both charged in Los Angeles federal court with one count of conspiracy to intentionally access computers without authorization, ABC 7 reported.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office also charged Nelson with two counts of intentionally accessing a computer without authorization and two counts of aggravated identity theft.
Nelson is facing 12 years in prison, and McCarty faces five years.
Warning to owners of smart home devices
Late this year, a series of swatting incidents across the US prompted the FBI to issue a public service announcement urging users of smart home devices with cameras and voice capabilities. Both the field offices in Phoenix and Las Vegas issued press releases warning the public about the dangers of swatting and offering advice on how to protect your smart devices.
The FBI advises:
-Use complex passwords or passphrases for online accounts
-Avoid duplicate passwords across different accounts.
-Update your passwords or passphrases regularly.
-Practice good cyber hygiene.
-Use multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all online accounts and any device that touches the Internet. For an additional layer of authentication, use a mobile phone number, virtual or physical tokens, or biometric options (such as a face or fingerprint scan).
