Investigation: Ring Employees Allegedly Accessed Users

Investigation: Ring Employees Allegedly Accessed Users' Security Camera Footage

An investigation published by The Intercept found that some Ring employees were giving access to users' security camera feeds.

Ring, a security company owned by Amazon, is everywhere. If you aren't hearing their 30 second ad spots in popular podcasts on your commute to work, you are seeing captured footage a man licking a door bell watermarked with the Ring logo. The popular security company has infiltrated the home security industry, but are they, in turn, infiltrating your home? 

Last week, Ring came under fire for allowing certain employees to sneak a peek at customers' security camera feeds. An investigation by the Intercept's Sam Biddle found that the owners of Ring security cameras may have been spied on in an effort to perfect some of the camera's features. 

Citing sources familiar with Ring's privacy practices, the Intercept reported that employees who were reportedly granted "high privileged access" were able to gain access to video recordings as well as to Ring cameras in, or outside, a users' home, depending on where the cameras were positioned. All the employee needed to access these feeds was an email address.

"Beginning in 2016, according to one source, Ring provided its Ukraine-based research and development team virtually unfettered access to a folder on Amazon's S3 cloud storage service that contained every video created by every Ring camera around the world," Biddle said in his article. "This would amount to an enormous list of highly sensitive files that could be easily browsed and viewed. Downloading and sharing these customer video files would have required little more than a click."

According to the Intercept, the access was given to the research and development team in an effort to better the facial recognition technology embedded in the product.

Ring denies that users' of their home security cameras are being spied on. In an email to Gizmodo, Ring said they take the privacy and security their customers' personal information extremely seriously.

"In order to improve our service, we view and annotate certain Ring video recordings," a Ring spokesperson said in the email. "These recordings are sourced exclusively from publicly shared Ring videos from the Neighbors app (in accordance with our terms of service), and from a small fraction of Ring users who have provided their explicit written consent to allow us to access and utilize their videos for such purposes. Ring employees do not have access to livestreams from Ring products."

About the Author

Sydny Shepard is the Executive Editor of Campus Security & Life Safety.

Featured

Featured Cybersecurity

Webinars

New Products

  • Unique Oversized ID Card Printer

    Unique Oversized ID Card Printer

    Idesco Corp. is announcing its card printer – the XCR100 2.0 printer- that allows customers to personalize oversized ID cards on demand. The printer is ideal for assisting healthcare organizations find the right badging solution. As healthcare facilities continue to combat the spread of COVID-19, issuing oversized ID cards has helped identify staff clearly while adding an extra layer of security. The XCR100 2.0 printer is the only dye-sublimation printer on the market that can personalize CR100 cards (3.88" x 2.63"). The cards that are 42% larger than the standard credit card size. The printer can produce up to 180 full cards per hour in color, and up to 1,400 cards per hour in monochrome. An optional flipper is available to print dual-sided badges in one pass. Contactless encoding comes as an option to help healthcare facilities produce secure access badges on demand and the card printer features a 2-year warranty. 3

  • XS4 Original+

    XS4 Original+

    The SALTO XS4 Original+ design is based on the same proven housing and mechanical mechanisms of the XS4 Original. The XS4 Original+, however, is embedded with SALTO’s BLUEnet real-time functionality and SVN-Flex capability that enables SALTO stand-alone smart XS4 Original+ locks to update user credentials directly at the door. Compatible with the array of SALTO platform solutions including SALTO Space data-on-card, SALTO KS Keys as a Service cloud-based access solution, and SALTO’s JustIn Mobile technology for digital keys. The XS4 Original+ also includes RFID Mifare DESFire, Bluetooth LE and NFC technology functionality. 3

  • Kangaroo Home Security System

    Kangaroo Home Security System

    Kangaroo is the affordable, easy-to-install home security system designed for anyone who wants an added layer of peace of mind and protection. It has several products, ranging from the fan-favorite Doorbell Camera + Chime, to the more comprehensive Front Door Security Kit with Professional Monitoring. Regardless of the level of desired security, Kangaroo’s designed to move with consumers - wherever that next chapter may be. Motion sensors, keypads and additional features can be part of the package to any Kangaroo system in place, anytime. Additionally, Kangaroo offers scalable protection plans with a variety of benefits ranging from 24/7 professional monitoring to expanded cloud storage, coverage for damage and theft. 3