Amazon Ring users seek class action lawsuit for hacked cameras

Amazon Ring allows customers to monitor activity and communicate with people both inside and outside the home, which all sounds well and good, until a complete stranger hacks into it and becomes a new kind of uninvited guest.

Customers are seeking to bring a class action lawsuit against Amazon Ring, contending that families across the country have seen their home security cameras hacked. One couple says a hacker used their camera to harass their daughter, saying “I’m your best friend. I’m Santa Claus. Don’t you want to be my best friend?”

Another couple’s child was told: “I would like to notify you that your account has been terminated by a hacker! Pay this 50 bitcoin ransom or you will get terminated yourself.”

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“As hacking goes, this is so lame,” said KIRO Nights co-host Chason Gordon, filling in for Gee Scott. “I know they have clubs and they meet at these clubs and are like, ‘So what did you hack today?’ ‘The Pentagon. What did you hack?’ ‘An eight year-old’s bedroom.'”

The basis of the proposed lawsuit accuses Ring of negligence with its security features, neglecting to use two-factor authentication and not notifying users of breaches, like you would see with basic email programs, reports GeekWire.

For co-host Aaron Mason, the convenience of such technology is offset by how vulnerable it makes us.

“Whenever I’m scrolling on my phone — I usually do it from unflattering angle camera, if the camera were to be on — and maybe it’s my vanity, all I think about is like there’s probably someone who hacked into my phone and absolutely can see through my camera,” he said.

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“And all they do is watch you, Aaron, day and night. This is so narcissistic that you think someone cares about what you’re doing,” Chason joked.

“Oh they don’t care, it’s boring. But I think about that stuff all the time,” Aaron added.

At the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Ring said they will be implementing stricter privacy and security measures.

Listen to KIRO Nights with Gee Scott and Aaron Mason weekdays from 7-10 p.m. on KIRO Radio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.