Thousands of Ring camera passwords leaked online – owners must change this setting now

December 21, 2019

By Mark Jones

Update 12/20/2019:

Ring officials previously stated the company had not been breached and was looking into how hackers were taking over Ring devices; however, we just learned thousands of Ring credentials have been published online.

Emails, passwords, time zones and camera locations were all part of the leaked information. With this data, anyone could log into your Ring account and spy on what you’re doing in your own home — and potentially access payment information.

If you have a Ring device you should change your password immediately, just in case. Read this original post for more security tips.

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Original Report:

One way technology has been able to make our lives better is by giving us peace of mind with web-connected security devices. It’s nice being able to watch your home with a security camera no matter where you are in the world.

But what if a hacker was able to take over your webcams? We’ve seen this play out earlier this year when a hacker terrified a family by speaking to a young child through their Nest cam. Tap or click here to learn the scary details.

Well, Nest isn’t the only company hackers are targeting. Another popular home security company’s cameras are being infiltrated now, and people all across the U.S. are at risk.

Intruders could get into your home

Have you ever heard of the Discord platform? It’s been around since 2015 and was intended to be a place where gamers could chat. It features audio, text and video chatting. It’s also used to broadcast podcasts.

Unfortunately, the platform has been turned into a gathering place for hackers recently.

Related: 4 clever ways to prevent spying

Here’s what’s happening: Hackers have found a way to take control of Ring devices that have microphones and built-in cameras. Once they take over a victim’s Ring device, they can use it to traumatize innocent families.

They’ve even turned the practice into a podcast called “NullCast” that is live-streamed to Discord. Hackers take over a Ring cam and mic, and use them to watch people in their homes. Hackers can even speak to victims to harass them.

Watch the following video for a couple of horrifying examples that were caught on camera:

Apparently, software used to hack Ring devices is being shared within the hacker community. They also use email addresses and passwords that were compromised in previous data breaches.

Related: Check now to see if your webcam is being hacked

This is common among cybercriminals. Once your credentials are breached from one site, if you use them on any other platforms, scammers will use them to get into your accounts.

How to secure your Ring cam

In response to its products being hacked, Ring stated:

“Customer trust is important to us and we take the security of our devices seriously. While we are still investigating this issue and are taking appropriate steps to protect our devices based on our investigation, we are able to confirm this incident is in no way related to a breach or a compromise of Ring’s security.”

The company also encouraged users to follow these security precautions to stay protected:

• Two-factor authentication (2FA) – Ring offers 2FA as a security feature on its devices. It’s always a good idea to enable this when available on any of your accounts. Tap or click here to learn more about 2FA.
• Shared Users – One mistake Ring users make is sharing account credentials with multiple people. Instead of sharing credentials, you should utilize the Shared User feature in your Ring app. This way you can add people to your Ring account without having to give them the password. They will still be able to access your Ring device and take advantage of its features, but your login credentials won’t be floating around.
• Use strong passwords – If you haven’t changed your Ring password in a long time, or are using a fairly simple one, it’s time to update it.

To update your Ring password, open the Ring app >> tap the three-lined icon to open the side menu >> tap Account >> tap Change Password (passwords must be at least 8 characters, a mix of letters and numbers, and can have no special characters) >> enter your current password >> enter your new password >> confirm.

If you’re not sure whether your new password is strong, tap or click here for help.