A Brookhaven couple recently installed a security camera to keep an eye on their new puppy, but it has offered them anything but peace of mind.
The couple believes a stranger hacked into their Ring camera system Monday night to harass them. They shared the video with Channel 2 Action News as a warning to other Ring users.
The woman, who did not want to be identified, told the news station she had just put the puppy in a crate and laid down for the night when she heard a cough come from the camera in her bedroom. A blue light indicated that someone had tapped into the video feed.
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She assumed it was her boyfriend. A quick text confirmed it wasn’t.
In the video, the stranger can be heard clapping and telling the puppy to “wake up!” At another point in the video, the voice said, “Hello, doggy doggy! Come here, doggy.”
Eventually, the person became irritated.
"I can see you in the bed! C'mon! Wake the (expletive) up!"
The woman told Channel 2 she was frozen by fear.
“I was terrified,” she said. “I literally could not move my body.”
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The couple reported the unsettling ordeal to Ring and is planning to file a report with Brookhaven police. In a statement, Ring said the incident was “in no way related to a breach or compromise of Ring’s security.”
The company indicated it was likely that “bad actors” used username and password information stolen or leaked from other accounts or services. Those who use the same login information across various accounts are at risk, and Ring said it encourages its customers to enable two-factor authentication and use strong passwords.
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The incident is still under investigation.
“Customer trust is important to us and we take the security of our devices seriously,” the statement said.
The woman said she and her boyfriend never imagined they could put themselves at risk by taking security measures in their home. When they reviewed their account, they learned someone hacked into their video feed three other times.
They don’t know if the incidents are connected.
“Ring should have the safety precautions already set in place where you never have to worry about it,” her boyfriend told the news station.
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