The home security company ADT was hit with a pair of class action lawsuits due to a security breach affecting at least 220 customers in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
The lawsuits claim that a service technician added his personal email address to customers’ ADT Pulse app accounts, which allowed him to log in and watch live video streams and recorded video.
He was able to spy on customers “in various states of undress” and during “moments of physical intimacy,” according to the lawsuits. He also had the ability to download videos and images.
Moments once believed to be private and inside the sanctity of the home are now voyeuristic entertainment for a third party. And worse, those moments could have been captured, shared with others, or even posted to the internet.”
One lawsuit claims he spied on a teenage girl and her family nearly 100 times over a 3-year period. The other lawsuit was filed by a woman who says he spied on her, her husband, and her young son.
The breaches continued for 7 years, from 2013 until early 2020, when a customer in DeSoto contacted ADT to report an unauthorized email address linked to their account.
After ADT discovered the security breach, the company immediately terminated the employee, revoked his remote access, and contacted law enforcement.
ADT contacted 220 customers in Dallas and told them about the security breaches in April 2020. The company also announced that it will update the Pulse App to prevent service technicians from using it to spy on customers.
Source: ADT sued after employee accessed more than 200 customers’ home security systems in Dallas area