Is “Ring” REALLY Keeping Your Family Safe?

Ring. A technology owed by Amazon that hasn’t been around for the longest amount of time but has managed to revolutionize security in one’s home. This device is known for allowing you and your family to live-stream video on basically any device and see what is happening on your front porch. However, Ring has recently gained backlash as not only a device that allows live coverage of who/what is entering your home, but also “as a webcam that spies on you and that has failed to protect your data” (The New York Times). If this is true, why do copious amounts of people continue to buy and support the device?

Personally, I was fascinated by this article just learning about the huge amount of data breaches caused by Ring itself since it is not commonly covered on the news. Only last month did a team of researchers discover that the Ring device contained hidden code that had leaked all sorts of personal data out to third-party consumers. While Ring has come out with various statements about how they are going to address this and many other issues, many security experts have commented that the Ring teams’ solutions were weak. The problem with addressing such issues as these is that people are more willing to consume in a product that claims to protect their families that use tools like motion sensors, cameras, microphones and speakers rather than doing research about how these products could potentially be putting them in more danger.

Now I’m not saying that no one should invest in security devices like the Ring, but simply endorsing the importance of research and knowing what you are bringing into your home before mindlessly insulting these devices. According to Brian Chen from the New York Times, there are ways to maker smarter decisions about your security devices. These include developing a STRONG password and using a password manager, set up two-factor verification but be careful with sharing your phone number with a stranger, turn off the microphone, and install a tracker blocker on your phone. Overall, remember to be smart about would security products you bring into your home, do your research, and always consider the company’s data security polices and practices.

Source:

Chen, Brian X. “Your Doorbell Camera Spied on You. Now What?” The New York Times, The New York Times, 19 Feb. 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/02/19/technology/personaltech/ring-doorbell-camera-spying.html.

 

One thought on “Is “Ring” REALLY Keeping Your Family Safe?

  1. I don’t think we can ever trust anyone with this sort of thing. I wouldn’t even give my best friend a camera to see in and around my house, why should I trust a company full of strangers? Data and security are incredibly precious these days, and we should try to be very careful with who has access to it. Ring has said that they are trying to adress the security concerns, but I’m not sure we will ever have the security technology to make that sort of thing safe.

    Chen, Brian X. “Your Doorbell Camera Spied on You. Now What?” The New York Times, The New York Times, 19 Feb. 2020, http://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/19/technology/personaltech/ring-doorbell-camera-spying.html.

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