"Grand Jury Indicts Suspects Who Hijacked Ring Cameras to Livestream Swatting Attacks"
Two suspects have beeen charged by federal prosecutors in the Central District of California with swatting attacks that used hacked Ring cameras to livestream armed police. The attacks prompted the FBI to issue a warning regarding swatting attacks livestreamed using Ring cameras in December 2020, advising Ring camera owners to use complex passwords and enable multi-factor authentication (MFA). Ring LLC, an Amazon subsidiary, stated that unauthorized third parties took control of consumer accounts, but the company was helping victims regain access to their accounts. In addition, the smart home solutions provider worked with the FBI to detect cybercriminals and required users to enable two-factor authentication (2FA). The suspects targeted Ring users who shared the same password in order to launch swatting attacks, mock law enforcement, and livestream the encounters on social media. If convicted, the suspects may face up to five years in jail on accusations of willful access to an unauthorized computer. This article continues to discuss the indictment of suspects who allegedly used hacked Ring cameras to livestream swatting attacks.