Amazon confirmed Thursday that its subsidiary Ring fired employees for attempting to access customer video data beyond the scope of their jobs. Amazon public policy lead Brian Huseman disclosed the incidents, which happened sometime in the past four years, in a letter to U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon:
“Over the last four years, Ring has received four complaints or inquiries regarding a team member’s access to Ring video data. Although each of the individuals involved in these incidents was authorized to view video data, the attempted access to that data exceeded what was necessary for their job functions. In each instance, once Ring was made aware of the alleged conduct, Ring promptly investigated the incident, and after determining that the individual violated company policy, terminated the individual.”
The letter was in response to questions Wyden posed to Amazon and Ring in November about the security of the service. Over the past few months, Ring has been dogged by news reports about hacks into customer cameras and the home security company’s tight relationship with law enforcement.
Ring announced new safety and security measures at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week. Ring CEO Jamie Siminoff told GeekWire he’s determined to stay the course despite the controversies.
Bloomberg News first reported on Amazon’s letter to Wyden.
