An internet troll has targeted Mumsnet co-founder Justine Roberts in a 'swatting' attack that saw an armed police response team sent to her house.
Her parenting website was also targeted in a denial of service (DDoS) attack, which is where a website is bombarded with access requests taking it temporarily offline.
A group calling themselves @DadSecurity is believed to be behind the attacks, although its motivation in attacking the forum, a popular site for parents, is unclear.
The Twitter account of @DadSecurity has been suspended, but according to Mumsnet it had claimed responsibility for the attacks, tweeting "RIP Mumsnet" and "Our DDoS attacks are keeping you offline".
The Twitter account was also supposedly used to send a message saying "prepare to be swatted by the best" to a Mumsnet user who engaged with @DadSecurity.
The tweet included an image of a SWAT team, Mumsnet said.
Ms Roberts said that an armed response team were called to her house (Getty)
A 'swatting' attack involves a person making an emergency call reporting a crime at the victim's home, causing police to turn up.
Ms Roberts, writing in a post on Mumsnet, said that an armed response team were called to her house after someone reported a gunman in the area.
The Mumsent user who engaged with @DadSecurity was also the target of a swatting attack, Mumsnet said.
Mumsnet does not collect addresses, raising the question of how the attacker was able to target a user at their home.
Mumsnet also reported that the site had been hacked and advised its user to change their passwords.
The site says it keeps user's passwords encrypted, but speculated that the attacker might have set up a fake Mumsnet homepage to collect user information and passwords, and then use these to access the site.
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