Amazon, Ring Face Class-Action Lawsuit Over Alleged Security Camera Hacks

Alabama resident John Orange has filed a class-action lawsuit accusing Amazon and Ring of failing to do enough to secure their security systems against hacks, including Orange's. Engadget reports: He alleged that a stranger compromised his Ring outdoor camera and spooked his kids as a "direct and proximate" result of the company's inability to protect its devices "against cyber-attack." He pointed to other incidents to support the argument for a class action, including a highly publicized event in December where a remote intruder harassed a Mississippi girl.

Orange also claimed that Ring's response was evidence of the company blaming customers. It told Orange that there was "no evidence" someone had hacked the firm's infrastructure, and that his incident may be the result of a breach at a "non-Ring service" where the perpetrators reused info to sign into Ring accounts. In other words, Ring couldn't help it if people reused passwords with sites and services it can't control. The suit formally levels accusations of breach of contract, invasion of privacy, negligence, unjust enrichment and violating California's Unfair Competition Law (through misleading representations of security). If it achieves class action status, it would ask Amazon and Ring to compensate victims and implement "improved security procedures and measures."

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