MANILA, Philippines – As if to emphasize that the Internet isn’t as safe as some people think it is, a noted security blogger wrote about his experience last weekend of having his blog attacked and his home raided by police at the same time.

Brian Krebs, formerly of The Washington Post and now of Krebs on Security, discussed the simultaneous cyberattack and misdirected police raid on his home last March 14. Krebs notes that while the denial of service (DDoS) attack on his site didn’t last long as he hired a company to protect against those things, the “SWATting,” or practice of tricking actual police to raid otherwise innocent people, was of more immediate concern.

Krebs recounts in his blog post how, upon opening his door to remove some tape, there were “about a half-dozen other squad cars, lights flashing, and more officers pointing firearms in my direction, including a shotgun and a semi-automatic rifle.”

Krebs writes that he was “instructed to face the house, back down my front steps and walk backwards into the adjoining parking area, after which point I was handcuffed and walked up to the top of the street.”

After explaining that this was a hoax, which he had warned his local police of in advance, the police explained “someone had called 911 using a Caller ID number that matched” Krebs’ number, “reporting that Russians had broken into the home and shot my wife.”

Krebs believes the DDoS attack and the “SWATting” were related to an earlier report he made about underground sites peddling credit reports and Social Security numbers. The report related to media interest in hackers gaining access to the credit reports and Social Security numbers of high-profile personalities like Michelle Obama and FBI Director Robert Mueller.

Krebs followed up his original post with an update, noting his own worries about the practice of “SWATting.” He writes, “This type of individual prank puts peoples’ lives at risk, wastes huge amounts of taxpayer dollars, and draws otherwise scarce resources away from real emergencies.” – Rappler.com