Ring security cams lack one major feature: security

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Oh boy, where do we start with this one? A new report from Motherboard has some pretty dire implications for the actual security level of your home once you install a Ring camera into it.

The upshot? Your home actually becomes less safe, as Ring lacks even basic security measures to alert users to possible illegitimate use. Yikes.

Ring security cameras seem to lack security for the user

Motherboard spoke to a range of sources, from security pros to hackers to the victims of recent Ring hacks, and the picture they paint isn’t pretty.

From basic account security methods to placing the onus of stopping hacks on the users, Ring seems to have gone for ease of use instead of hardening their devices and user accounts against attack.

Here’s the list of issues Motherboard found:

• No double-checking if someone logging in from an unknown IP address is actually a legit user
• No way to check how many users are logged in at a time, or where those users are logged in from
• No double-checking of user passwords against known breached credentials
• No SMS verification for unknown IP address use
• No list of previous login attempts (either successful or not)
• No rate limiting on login attempts, allowing anyone to use credential stuffing to break into accounts
• If two-factor authentication is enabled while users are logged in, Ring doesn’t kick them out and require them to re-login

Umm, yikes? That’s a lot of missing security for something that literally takes pictures and video of your home.

What do you think? Surprised by this report from Motherboard? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

Editors’ Recommendations:

• Hackers now have dedicated software that helps them break into Ring security cameras
• If you own a Ring doorbell, police can keep your footage forever and share it with whoever they want
• Nebula is a genetic testing kit built on privacy that will pay you for your genetic data
• Tech Hangover: Google continues to be a horrible company to its employees

Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience at KnowTechie, SlashGear and XDA Developers. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere, with particular focus in gadgetry and handheld gaming. Shoot him an email at joe@knowtechie.com.