Amazon’s Ring cameras are vulnerable to hackers, lawsuit in US claims
- US man says an unknown hacker gained access to his Ring camera while his children were playing basketball and encouraged them to move closer to the camera
- The complaint follows several reported incidents of hackers gaining access to homes through Ring cameras
Amazon.com and its Ring home security camera unit have been sued by an Alabama homeowner who said the camera’s defective design leaves purchasers vulnerable to cyberattacks.
In a proposed class action filed on Thursday, John Baker Orange said that an unknown hacker recently gained access to his Ring camera while his children — ages 7, 9 and 10 — were playing basketball on their driveway, and through its speaker system encouraged them to move closer to the camera.
Orange, who said he paid US$249 for his camera in July, said the cameras work only when connected to the internet, and are “fatally flawed” because they do not protect against cyberattacks, despite Ring’s assurances of “peace of mind” and “smart security here, there, everywhere”.
A spokeswoman for Ring said that the Santa Monica, California-based company does not discuss legal matters.
The complaint filed in federal court in Los Angeles seeks unspecified damages from Ring and Seattle-based Amazon, as well as improved security for new and existing Ring cameras.
It followed several reported incidents of hackers gaining access to homes through Ring cameras, including when a man repeatedly called an eight-year-old Mississippi girl a racial slur and claimed he was Santa Claus.
“A company that sells a device that is supposed to protect occupants of a home shouldn’t become a platform for potentially endangering those occupants,” John Yanchunis, a lawyer for Orange, said in an interview.
Amazon’s Ring says police can keep and share surveillance camera video
Ring’s main product is a doorbell that contains a security camera and lets homeowners monitor and communicate with visitors through a phone app even if they are not at home.
Amazon has said it bought Ring in April 2018 for US$839 million in cash.
Orange, who lives in Jefferson County, Alabama, said he changed his “medium-strong” password and began using two-factor authentication for his camera after learning about the incident involving his children.
“So many devices are tethered to the internet, and consumers simply don’t have a realisation of how that can be so easily exploited,” Yanchunis said.
