Nest Competitor Ring Reportedly Gave Employees Full Access To Customers' Live Camera Feeds

[DamianTV]

https://yro.slashdot.org/story/19/01...e-camera-feeds

Amazon-owned Ring allowed employees to access customers' live camera feeds, according to a report from The Intercept. "Ring's engineers and executives have 'highly privileged access' to live camera feeds from customers' devices," reports 9to5Google. "This includes both doorbells facing the outside world, as well as cameras inside a person's home. A team tasked with annotating video to aid in object recognition captured 'people kissing, firing guns, and stealing.'" From the report:

U.S. employees specifically had access to a video portal intended for technical support that reportedly allowed "unfiltered, round-the-clock live feeds from some customer cameras." What's surprising is how this support tool was apparently not restricted to only employees that dealt with customers. The Intercept notes that only a Ring customer's email address was required to access any live feed.

According to the report's sources, employees had a blase attitude to this potential privacy violation, but noted that they "never personally witnessed any egregious abuses." Meanwhile, a second group of Ring employees working on R&D in Ukraine had access to a folder housing "every video created by every Ring camera around the world." What's more, these employees had a "corresponding database that linked each specific video file to corresponding specific Ring customers." Also bothersome is Ring's reported stance towards encryption. Videos in that bucket were unencrypted due to the costs associated with implementation and "lost revenue opportunities due to restricted access."

In response to the report, Ring said: "We have strict policies in place for all our team members. We implement systems to restrict and audit access to information. We hold our team members to a high ethical standard and anyone in violation of our policies faces discipline, including termination and potential legal and criminal penalties. In addition, we have zero tolerance for abuse of our systems and if we find bad actors who have engaged in this behavior, we will take swift action against them."

So if Employees can do that, then hackers can do that too. NSA and Cops probably have unfettered access to all your internet ready cameras just to make sure you arent doing "anything wrong" like not trusting the Gestapo Govt.

[CaptUSA]

So if Employees can do that, then hackers can do that too. NSA and Cops probably have unfettered access to all your internet ready cameras just to make sure you arent doing "anything wrong" like not trusting the Gestapo Govt.

I'm sure they're not there quite yet, but it won't be long until every inch of the planet is recorded and cataloged from every angle and every time slice. When an incident happens anywhere, the government will be able to pull up the unified surveillance stream to examine the incident from every angle. And I use the term "incident" very loosely. Because they'll be able to use it to blackmail their political enemies at home and abroad.

But again... The technology is not the problem. It is how it will be misused. On the plus side, this technology should also help us uncover government abuses. It can be used both ways. The internet is completely misused, but here we all are using it. Do you really want to give up this technology because of how some will abuse it? Or do you go after the abuses?

[DamianTV]

I'm sure they're not there quite yet, but it won't be long until every inch of the planet is recorded and cataloged from every angle and every time slice. When an incident happens anywhere, the government will be able to pull up the unified surveillance stream to examine the incident from every angle. And I use the term "incident" very loosely. Because they'll be able to use it to blackmail their political enemies at home and abroad.

But again... The technology is not the problem. It is how it will be misused. On the plus side, this technology should also help us uncover government abuses. It can be used both ways. The internet is completely misused, but here we all are using it. Do you really want to give up this technology because of how some will abuse it? Or do you go after the abuses?

Exactly. Tech is a tool, its the people that make the tools dangerous. At the same time tho, why would DARPA need to invent hundreds of new ways to suppress crowds with lethal force to use on the "enemy" but promise by lying thru their teeth to "never use against us"? That has NEVER happened at any time throughout history, and this constant surveillance state is a weapon against freedom. Make no mistake, they plan on pulling the trigger, and our only way out is to take that power out of their hands.

[Danke]

That is why I installed one of this cameras on my Ring system:

[Bern]

Alan Funt would be having a good bit of fun if he were alive today I would think.

[CaptUSA]

https://yro.slashdot.org/story/19/01...e-camera-feeds

On a semi-side note...

Do you wonder why the title contains, "Nest Competitor"??? I mean, what does that have to do with anything except a subtle hint to the consumer that there's an alternative? As if Google's Nest isn't doing the same thing as Amazon's Ring???

[Origanalist]

That is why I installed one of this cameras on my Ring system:

I don't have any system at all, but now I'm considering it.

[Suzanimal]

That is why I installed one of this cameras on my Ring system:

I quit watching when he explained it was an in toilet camera and then wanted to show it's features. No, thanks! I'm guessing that thing is the trailer park version of the smart toilet.

[DamianTV]

On a semi-side note...

Do you wonder why the title contains, "Nest Competitor"??? I mean, what does that have to do with anything except a subtle hint to the consumer that there's an alternative? As if Google's Nest isn't doing the same thing as Amazon's Ring???

Exactly. They are ALL Spy Devices that need to be thrown in the $#@!ing woods.

[Swordsmyth]

I'm sure they're not there quite yet, but it won't be long until every inch of the planet is recorded and cataloged from every angle and every time slice. When an incident happens anywhere, the government will be able to pull up the unified surveillance stream to examine the incident from every angle. And I use the term "incident" very loosely. Because they'll be able to use it to blackmail their political enemies at home and abroad.

But again... The technology is not the problem. It is how it will be misused. On the plus side, this technology should also help us uncover government abuses. It can be used both ways. The internet is completely misused, but here we all are using it. Do you really want to give up this technology because of how some will abuse it? Or do you go after the abuses?

Technology is good for our standard of living but dangerous for liberty, it is always more useful to the tyrant than the resistance.

Before metallurgy there were no chains.