Amazon adds E2EE to Ring battery-powered devices • The Register

Ring’s battery-powered video-doorbells-slash-surveillance cameras can lastly activate end-to-end encryption (E2EE).

The transfer expands this privateness and safety characteristic, which debuted final yr in its hard-wired and plug-in Ring devices. 

“We imagine we should always provide a full vary of privateness choices to as many purchasers as doable,” in accordance to a Ring blog on the E2EE enlargement.

Ring, by default, already encrypted movies as they’re uploaded and saved on Ring servers. Adding E2EE, nevertheless, ought to make sure that solely the Ring proprietor can entry and examine movies as a result of the required key to decrypt the info is saved on a tool connected to the account. 

As the smart-home biz explained in an earlier weblog concerning the privateness characteristic:

Ring house owners can learn the way to arrange video E2EE here. The safety replace thus, in concept not less than, prevents third events from accessing messages or movies.

It might put a damper on Amazon’s cozy relationship with the cops. One of the tech large’s VPs lately admitted to turning over Ring footage to US legislation enforcement with out permission from the devices’ house owners 11 instances thus far in 2022.

With E2EE, nevertheless, if the system works as described, solely the machine house owners can entry the footage. This means Ring movies cannot be used to, say, construct a criminal case towards individuals searching for abortions in post-Roe America or different international locations like Poland, ought to the doorbell cam be positioned close to a medical facility that provides the process.

Nothing to see right here, officer — or would-be bounty hunter.

The transfer additionally comes as not less than one US metropolis is mulling a legislation that will enable police to use non-public safety cameras, resembling these in Ring doorbells, for real-time surveillance functions. 

But even with no legislation on the books, San Francisco cops allegedly already used non-public surveillance cameras — with out the Board of Supervisors’ permission — to spy on protestors following the 2020 police homicide of George Floyd, in accordance to the EFF and ACLU. The two organizations filed a lawsuit towards the town and county of San Francisco final month.

In addition to increasing E2EE, Ring additionally added a service that lets subscribers take away devices from their Ring account and both hold or delete movies and different occasions from that machine earlier than eradicating it. 

Customers that need to hold the movies and occasions can entry them through a Ring account after the machine is deactivated or transferred to one other person. ®

https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/07/amazon_video_e2ee_ring/

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