Ring sued by man who claims camera was hacked and used to harass his kids
A man in Alabama is suing the Amazon-owned home security company Ring, claiming his internet-connected camera was hacked and used to harass his children.
Ring user John Baker Orange purchased a Ring camera in July 2019 and in recent weeks allegedly experienced a chilling cybersecurity breach involving his children aged seven, nine, and 10, according to the lawsuit.
“Recently, Mr Orange’s children were playing basketball when a voice came on through the camera’s twoway speaker system”, the lawsuit said. “An unknown person engaged with Mr Orange’s children commenting on their basketball play and encouraging them to get closer to the camera”.
Baker Orange’s lawsuit comes after several media reports that hackers used two-way talk functions on the devices to wake people up and watch unsuspecting children through the internetconnected cameras.
The lawsuit named seven such incidents, including a Texas incident in which a hacker allegedly threatened a couple and demanded a ransom of $350,000 in bitcoin and another where a hacker allegedly tried to engage with an eight-year-old girl in Mississippi, claiming he was Santa Claus. The parents in that case released a video of the incident.
The lawsuit claims Ring should have implemented two-factor authentication, requiring users to verify their identities using a second form of identification like a phone number. It also notes that Ring did not require users to establish complicated passwords when setting up the devices.
“Unfortunately, Ring did not fulfill its core promise of providing privacy and security for its customers as its camera systems are fatally flawed,” the lawsuit says.
In December, Buzzfeed reported the log-in credentials for 3,672 Ring camera owners were compromised.Ring told the Guardian: “Ring does not comment on legal matters.”
The surveillance startup has been
under increased scrutiny in recent months, after reports from the Guardian,
Motherboard, and others revealed the extent to which the company has partnered with local police forces. Ring has partnered with more than 400police forces across the country, according to a Vice investigation, allowing police to request access to user videos in an attempt to help prevent crime.
Police forces have used Ring footage to arrest people for everything from stealing packages from porches to kidnappings.
Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts criticized Ring in November as being “an open door for privacy and civil liberty violations”.