Amazon's Ring hit with lawsuit over security camera hacking

Amazon and its home security subsidiary Ring have been hit by a class-action lawsuit in the US, following reports of hacking into its Ring security cameras that left victims, including children, traumatized at home.

The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the Central District of California, said that Ring security cameras have been hacked six times in the US, including the shocking episode where parents of an eight-year-old girl were left stunned when a hacker accessed a camera installed in their daughter's room and taunted her.

The plaintiff, John Baker Orange alleged that his Ring security camera was also hacked while his children were playing basketball. The hacker continued to comment on the kids' game and even asked the children to move closer.

"The two companies are being sued for negligence, invasion of privacy, breach of implied contract, breach of implied warranty and unjust enrichment," Fox Business reported on Friday.

The companies have known about the insufficiency of the system's security, the lawsuit alleged.

"Ring does not fulfil its core promise of providing privacy and security for its customers. Hackers routinely terrorize occupants, invade their privacy and undermine their sense of safety and security."

In a statement, Ring said the company does not comment on legal matters.

The latest hacking incident happened with a Tennessee family who had installed Amazon-owned Ring video camera in the room of their three daughters to keep an eye on them and stay close as the mother worked night shifts as a nurse.

In the video, the hacker can be heard taunting the eight-year-old several times.

"I'm your best friend, I'm Santa Claus. Don't you want to be my best friend?" the hacker told the girl.

The mysterious voice stopped when the child's father entered the room.

"My daughter could've been changing in her room... It did not take them long at all to figure this out," Ashley LeMay, the mother, was quoted as saying.

( With inputs from IANS )