NYPD Joins Ring Neighborhood

Great idea if well managed.  Support it.   

 NYPD is joining Ring's neighborhood watch app amid privacy and racial profiling concerns   In Engadget

It's one of the largest police departments yet to join Neighbors.  

One of the most recognizable police forces is joining Ring's Neighbors app. The New York Police Department has announced that it will participate in Ring's neighborhood watch tool. Officers won't look for posts "around the clock," but they will respond to users' crime and safety concerns, post notices and ask for help with "active police matters."

The move potentially gives the NYPD another way to interact with the community. It may also obtain footage of criminal activity that it wouldn't otherwise have, with maps and timelines that could help pinpoint crime sprees and trends.

There's already opposition to the NYPD's participation, however. The New York-based Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (STOP) is concerned support for Neighbors will lead to more police violence, racial profiling and vigilantes. The technology "isn't keeping people safe" and even puts people in danger, Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn claims. He cites an incident in October where a father and son shot at a woman in response to a Ring doorbell notification. The woman delivered a package sent to the wrong address.  .... ' 

Amazon's Ring Will Ask Police to Publicly Request User Videos

Making things as hard for police as you can. 

Amazon's Ring Will Ask Police to Publicly Request User Videos

By Bloomberg,  June 7, 2021

Starting this week, law enforcement agencies seeking videos from Ring Internet-connected doorbells will be required to submit a Request for Assistance post to Ring's Neighbors app/portal.

Amazon subsidiary and Internet-connected doorbell maker Ring said police departments that require help in investigations must publicly request home security video from doorbells and cameras.

Law enforcement agencies now must post such Requests for Assistance on Neighbors, Ring's video-sharing and safety-related community discussion portal; nearby users with potentially helpful videos can click a link within the post and select which videos they wish to submit.

Ring, which has been accused of having a too-cozy relationship with law enforcement, explained on its blog that it has been working with independent third-party experts to help give people greater insight into law enforcement's use of its technology.

From Bloomberg

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Ring Adds a Geofence

A geofence is a concept to integrate specific programmed reactions to changes in physical location.  Usually leaving some 'fence' or multidimensional area.  For example a geofence might be set to open a garage door when their automobile gets inside an established 'geofence'.   Ring describes its system: 

Geofence in the Ring App

This article will cover commonly asked questions about the Ring Geofence feature.

What is a Geofence?

A geofence is a virtual perimeter or invisible boundary around a particular geographic location. When you configure a geofence in the Ring app, the Ring app can remind you to set your Mode to “Away” when you exit the geofence. When you come home and re-enter the geofence, your Ring app can automatically snooze alerts from your security cameras and doorbells.  ... " 

Ring devices are designed to make your home security simple and convenient. You want them to be helpful and there when you need them, and blend into the background when you don’t. Rolling out today, Geofence introduces certain automations for the Ring App, such as receiving fewer alerts from your Ring Video Doorbell and Security Cameras when you arrive home, and getting reminders to switch your Ring Alarm and other devices to Away Mode when you leave. Geofence makes your home security more convenient and tailored to your personal preferences than ever, for added peace of mind.

Automated Alerts and Reminders

When you set up Geofence, you create an invisible boundary around your home or business. Once Geofence is enabled, certain alerts can be automated based on the location of your mobile device in relation to the boundary. Your mobile device provides location updates to the Ring App, which will then determine what alerts should be sent whether or not your mobile device is entering or leaving the boundary..... '

Expansion of Amazon Ring Network

The Verge reports on the considerable linking of Ring devices with police and fire departments.  Have had one installed since they emerged.    As usual the privacy fanatics assume that this can be abused, and thus is inherently bad.   The other part of the implication is that police are bad, so helping them out must also be suspect.   The stats are interesting in this and the attached article.   Continue to follow, and I do occasionally thumb through shared alerts. 

Amazon’s Ring now reportedly partners with more than 2,000 US police and fire departments

Only two states— Montana and Wyoming— have no departments on the Ring program  By Kim Lyons

All but two US states — Montana and Wyoming— now have police or fire departments participating in Amazon’s Ring network, which lets law enforcement ask users for footage from their Ring security cameras to assist with investigations, the Financial Times reported, Figures from Ring show more than 1,189 departments joined the program in 2020 for a total of 2,014. That’s up sharply from 703 departments in 2019 and just 40 in 2018.

The FT reports that local law enforcement departments on the platform asked for Ring videos for a total of more than 22,335 incidents in 2020. The disclosure data from Ring also shows that law enforcement made some 1,900 requests — such as subpoenas, search warrants, and court orders— for footage or data from Ring cameras even after the device owner has denied the request. Amazon complied with such requests 57 percent of the time, its figures show, down from 68 percent in 2019.  .... 

Ring Adds Power Buttons

More add ons to security infrastructure.    World getting to be a more insecure place.

Ring adds 'panic' buttons to its home security alarm in Engadget

You can instantly get in contact with police, fire or medical responders.
Ring’s first home security alarm did its job, but wasn’t exactly the prettiest piece of hardware you’ll find on the shelf. Now, almost two years later, the company is back with a second-generation Ring Alarm that’s a lot smaller and sleeker than its predecessor. The big change, aside from the look, is that the keypad now has “panic” buttons that’ll call Medical, Fire or Police services if you so desire. ... "

IFTTT and Brands in the Smart Home

Recording of yesterdays Webinar

 ... How smart home companies decide which integrations to prioritize and why successful smart home companies optimize their integration strategies for scalability,  The different integration strategies of 3 innovative smart home companies

IFTTT needs the contact information you provide to us to contact you about our products and services. You may unsubscribe from these communications at any time. For information on how to unsubscribe, as well as our privacy practices and commitment to protecting your privacy, please review our Privacy Policy.

Successful smart home companies like iRobot, LIFX, and Ring understand the importance of third-party integrations for driving product adoption and engagement. But in order to do so, smart home companies must navigate the overwhelming number of apps and devices to determine which integrations matter most to their customers and their business.

Join IFTTT Founder and CEO, Linden Tibbets, as he reviews the integration strategies of 3 smart home companies to understand how integrations help them scale their products in the smart home and beyond.

Linden_Tibbets,  IFTTT Founder and CEO
Linden Tibbets is Founder and CEO of IFTTT, the essential integration and discovery platform for businesses to continuously connect, grow and maximize the value of their customers. ... '

Brands Winning in The Smart Home: Webinar

Of interest, will be attending, register at the link.

Webinar:May 21, 1PM ET    How top brands win the smart home
Integration strategies from iRobot, LIFX, and Ring 

In this webinar you will learn:

How smart home companies decide which integrations to prioritize and why

Why successful smart home companies optimize their integration strategies for scalability

The different integration strategies of 3 innovative smart home companies

Successful smart home companies like iRobot, LIFX, and Ring understand the importance of third-party integrations for driving product adoption and engagement.  But in order to do so, smart home companies must navigate the overwhelming number of apps and devices to determine which integrations matter most to their customers and their business.

Join IFTTT Founder and CEO, Linden Tibbets, as he reviews the integration strategies of 3 smart home companies to understand how integrations help them scale their products in the smart home and beyond.

Linden Tibbets
IFTTT Founder and CEO
Linden Tibbets is Founder and CEO of IFTTT, the essential integration and discovery platform for businesses to continuously connect, grow and maximize the value of their customers.

An IOT Security Crisis?

Well hardly usual, in this case the device was placed in a bedroom and used to communicate. Hardly its stated purpose.   Any surveillance camera could have been used that way.  Its like the alleged warning on a lawn mower suggesting it should not be used to trim hedges.  By this argument the Net is the most dangerous thing of all.

Why Ring Doorbells Perfectly Exemplify the IoT Security Crisis  in Wired.
A new wave of reports about the home surveillance cameras getting hijacked by creeps is painfully familiar.

There's been a lot of creepy and concerning news about how Amazon's Ring smart doorbells are bringing surveillance to suburbia and sparking data-sharing relationships between Amazon and law enforcement. News reports this week are raising a different issue: hackers are breaking into users' Ring accounts, which can also be connected to indoor Ring cameras, to take over the devices and get up to all sorts of invasive shenanigans.

In Mississippi, a Tennessee news channel reported on Tuesday about a case where hackers hijacked an indoor Ring camera one family had placed in a bedroom and used it to talk to three young girls. And as Motherboard first showed, there are tools available online for breaking into Ring accounts by strategically guessing the login credentials. When account thieves record enough juicy audio from people's Ring feeds, there's even a podcast where they can broadcast it.  ..... "

Live Video Trolling on Ring

Just got word of this.  Ring Cameras hacked for sheer harassment.  Perhaps for  a belief that personal protection by surveillance systems are by their nature illegitimate?  Or they are just a means of protection?  Secure your systems.

Ring cameras hacked for video livestream trolling.      By Duncan Riley in SiliconAngle

In one of the more bizarre hacking cases of recent times, Ring cameras are being targeted by hackers not for profit but for sharing via a video livestream.

In an exploit detailed today by Motherboard, Ring camera owners in multiple states have been targeted with the livestream and subsequent harassment of owners shared via NulledCast on the digital distribution platform Discord. The livestream is linked to a forum called Nulled where tools for accessing Ring cameras are sold and traded.

“Sit back and relax to over 45 minutes of entertainment,” an advertisement for the podcast reads. “Join us as we go on completely random tangents such as; Ring & Nest Trolling, telling shelter owners we killed a kitten, Nulled drama and more ridiculous topics. Be sure to join our Discord to watch the shows live.”

Some of the cases include those behind the livestream targeting an eight-year-old girl in Memphis, Tennessee, and in another case taunting a family in Florida with racial slurs. Although those behind it are doing it for the “lulz,” in one case in Grand Prairie, Texas, a demand for 50 bitcoin ($359,750) was made, though likely not seriously.

The software used to break into the Ring cameras is said to use previously compromised email addresses and passwords to break into Ring cameras at large scale.

Given that the attacks have all involved reused passwords, Ring responded to the report by noting that its services have not been compromised and that owners should use unique passwords.

“Unfortunately, when people reuse the same username and password on multiple services, it’s possible for bad actors to gain access to many accounts,” Ring said in a blog post. “Upon learning of the incident, we took appropriate actions to promptly block bad actors from known affected Ring accounts and affected users have been contacted. Out of an abundance of caution, we encourage Ring customers to change their passwords and enable two-factor authentication.” ... '

Tales of Ring Surveillance

The implications of cheap, widespread, continuous surveillance in the suburbs has got me thinking of late.  And then this Wired piece on just this topic came up, describing some of the more unusual things that have come out of this:   Ring Camera Surveillance Is Transforming Suburban Life   Now everything at my front door is recorded,  video and sound, and I can clip, edit and share it.   Some of  my neighbors are doing the same thing. 

Ring Door Bell Now Takes over Property Lighting

Have had the Ring Door Bell and door surveillance working for several years now.   It's continued to add more sophisticated options to capture and manage video and security interactions. They have now added a number of battery powered and Wifi network connected devices to light up your outdoors at night,  and add to outdoor security and lighting convenience.  All controllable via motion sensors and Alexa voice commands. Light a path, entrance or a whole property.  Remotely access the lights, and the real time video from cameras or resulting video.  Have lights chained together in groups.

The doorbell part and cameras can create 'neighborhood watches' by connecting to other nearby users of the system.   I get several alerts there every week.  And somewhat controversially,  local police departments can join these neighborhoods,  to potentially request copies of videos captured.   My suburban police district just announced it has joined, so that must be fairly common.    Video examples of how this has been used in practice are here:  https://tv.ring.com/    Considerable detail about how this works at the link.

All this is fairly easy to install, especially if you already have assistant infrastructure in place, but you can run into situations where you might need some help.

The new lighting options are described here:  https://shop.ring.com/pages/smart-lighting

Here is a review of the added lighting network capabilities in DigitalTrends.

Ring/Amazon Reveals How its working with Police in the US

Been a member since the network has been established, great idea. 

Working Together for Safer Neighborhoods: Introducing the Neighbors Active Law Enforcement Map     by Jamie Siminoff

At Ring, we believe that when communities work together, safer neighborhoods become a reality—that’s why we created the Neighbors app—we wanted to easily facilitate conversations around crime and safety among all members of the community, and we invited local law enforcement agencies to contribute to those discussions.

Today, 405 agencies use the Neighbors Portal, which is an extension of the Neighbors app that allow law enforcement to engage with their local community—from posting important information about crime and safety events in their neighborhoods to viewing and commenting on public posts as a verified law enforcement officer to asking for help on active investigations by submitting requests for video recordings.  .... " 

Further discussed outlining all the usual angst in Engadget.    We don't like safety?