John,

Last week, a man hacked into an Amazon Ring camera to watch an 8 year old girl and speak to her. He introduced himself as Santa Claus and then proceeded to have a conversation with the young girl through a Ring camera her parents had installed in her bedroom.¹

Since this chilling incident, there have been new reports daily of other users and their families being harassed by hackers who’ve broken into their Ring devices.^2,3

Amazon’s response? They’re blaming the victims.

We need Congress to investigate these security breaches and hold the tech giant accountable for dangers their products pose.

TAKE ACTION

These aren’t isolated incidents.

Multiple security issues with Ring products have been reported over the past several months.

Amazon's Ring doorbells leaked user’s Wi-Fi passwords.⁴
Ring’s Neighbors app discloses users' home addresses.⁵
In response to Senate inquiry, Amazon acknowledge they have no safeguards in place to protect users’ footage when shared with 3rd parties.⁶

These cameras are spreading everywhere. Amazon is practically giving them away with steep holiday discounts and police partners are promoting the product in their cities.

We know these devices are dangerous. We urgently need Congress to investigate Amazon Ring’s lack of security before something awful happens. Demand lawmakers act now.

Together, we can keep our communities safe,

Ayele, Fight for the Future

PS－Fight for the Future and other consumer privacy advocates have issued an official product warning to inform the public about the dangers associated with Ring cameras. Check out RingSafetyWarning.com and help share it with your friends and family.

Footnotes:

1. Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/12/12/she-installed-ring-camera-her-childrens-room-peace-mind-hacker-accessed-it-harassed-her-year-old-daughter/

2. WSBTV.com. https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/dekalb-county/-wake-up-woman-says-someone-hacked-surveillance-system-yelled-at-her-dog/1017442073/

3. Vice. https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/z3bbq4/podcast-livestreams-hacked-ring-cameras-nulledcast

4. CNET. https://www.cnet.com/news/ring-doorbells-had-vulnerability-leaking-wi-fi-login-info-researchers-found/

5. Gizmodo. https://gizmodo.com/ring-s-hidden-data-let-us-map-amazons-sprawling-home-su-1840312279

6. Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/11/19/police-can-keep-ring-camera-video-forever-share-with-whomever-theyd-like-company-tells-senator/

Fight for the Future works to protect your rights in the digital age.