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Security Concerns Rise in Silicon Valley After Swatting Attacks: Report

The swatting attacks may be in response to tech companies addressing rule violations on their platforms.

Executives of major tech companies have increasingly become targets of swatting, the practice of calling in a fake incident to police in order to lure a SWAT team to someone’s home. The costly calls may have become more frequent as people seek retaliation for recent actions some technology companies have taken to address rule violations on their platforms. Popular platforms, such as Instagram and Facebook, have begun removing accounts that violate their user agreements. Two swatting attacks against top executives this year came soon after someone posted their personal details—including home addresses—to an online message board. With the threat of being swatted now a reality, executives have ramped up their personal security measures. Security expenses for Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg have nearly quadrupled since 2016. “He is synonymous with Facebook and, as a result, negative sentiment regarding our company is directly associated with, and often transferred to, Mr. Zuckerberg,” a public securities filing for Zuckerberg reads.