Ring video doorbell security concerns

You’ve most likely heard of Ring, the smart video doorbell which allows you to see and speak to those at your door.

Ring was bought by online giant Amazon back in 2018, and like the Amazon Echo and Amazon Dot which have made their way into many homes around the world, Ring has followed in their footsteps. However it was recently reported that four Ring employees were fired for accessing users videos!

As we invite more of these smart home gadgets into our homes, unfortunately technology brings with it an array of security risks and flaws which is incredibly concerning, not only for security but our privacy too.

In a news report by the BBC they’ve quoted “employees were authorised to view videos but access exceeded what was necessary for their job functions.”

This was all unveiled in a letter sent to US senators, following questions about the company’s security practices.

Back in November, a letter was sent to Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s CEO, with questions around security concerns. One of the concerns highlighted was why employees in Ring’s Ukrainian office had access to customer video data.

Amazon responded by saying that this team could only watch videos which were publicly available, and from contractors, employees and friends who had given their consent to be part of the programme.

Unfortunately this isn’t the first occasion where Amazon has received complaints in relation to employees watching users’ videos, however Amazon stated they had conducted investigations for each case and terminated contracts.

Furthermore Amazon has said “although each of the individuals involved was authorised to view video data, the attempted access to that data exceeded what was necessary for their job functions.”

Other reports include a hacker speaking to a youngster via a Ring camera in her home and there have also been instances of racial abuse from a hacker targeting a family in Florida.

Are you the owner of a Ring or similar smart doorbell? Are you concerned about the security of these devices or perhaps you’re put off owning one due to the potential dangers of these gadgets?

You can comment below to share your thoughts on this.