Swatting
Having worked in IT for a good 7 years now, I understand how script kiddies can pull off a score here and there. A lot of people don't take security seriously and many view it as a downright pain in the butt. Too often, admins and programmers blow security off when they are doing their jobs (although they are quick to invoke the word "Security" when it fits their own agenda). So the fact Slammer had the impact it did doesn't surprise me. What does surprise me though is that this crap happens frequently enough to have its own name. When SWAT teams arrive on the scene, they are all business. Just look at them, they look a hell of a lot more like soldiers than cops. So pranks like this could easily end up with someone getting shot. If it was social engineering, then it'd be more understandable but there's no way a run of the mill 19 year old kid ought to be able to pull this off. To be fair, I should get some more details before huffing and puffing about it, but it's pretty bad no matter how you slice it. This really needs to be the last of these stories we hear about...