'Whatcha watching?' Home surveillance camera hacked by man who speaks to young girl watching TV
A home surveillance camera was hacked by an individual who attempted to speak to a young girl while she was watching television in Sarpy County, Nebraska, on December 11.
In a video taken from Adam Krcilek, a homeowner who had the Amazon Ring camera in his kitchen, a voice can be heard speaking to his daughter after he momentarily leaves the room. The voice said: “What are you watching? Hey, What show is that? I’ve seen that show before. What episode are you on.”
When Krcilek reenters the room and opens the fridge, the voice says, “What are you eating?” Krcilek looks around and approaches the camera as he asks: “Who is this?”
Krcilek told Storyful that he disabled the camera shortly afterwards and he was disappointed in Amazon for not being more proactive about security. He said he was never advised to set up two-factor verification when he installed the camera six months ago.
“That’s what I am so upset about now,” he said. “I have now taken down all my interior Ring cameras.”
At least five families in different states have reported that hackers have spoken to them through the devices, with many families showing how the hackers used racial slurs to harass their family.
Ring said that its systems or network were not compromised. “Unfortunately, when people reuse the same username and password on multiple services, it’s possible for bad actors to gain access to many accounts,” it said. “We will continue to introduce additional security features to keep your Ring account and devices secure.”