Michael Hiltzik: Ring says it protects your home, but users say it exposed them to cyberattacks

For a company that says its goal is to help people secure their homes from criminals, Ring hasn't had an enjoyable last few months.

The Santa Monica, Calif., firm, which sells internet-enabled video doorbells and home security cameras and was acquired by Amazon in 2018 for a reported $1 billion, has come under fire from legislators, security experts and customers for what the critics say are its own suspect security procedures.

In November, Sen. Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., upbraided the company for making deals with law enforcement agencies that could expose customers and their neighbors to "invasive or even discriminatory information-gathering practices" by police.

Separately, Markey and four Democratic Senate colleagues raised questions about technical flaws in Ring products that "left customer video feeds vulnerable to eavesdropping and manipulation by malicious actors."

Their reference was to reports, which Ring says are under investigation, that hackers had broken into Ring products, using their cameras and speakers to yell obscenities at customers in their homes, peep at and harass children, utter racial slurs