https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ring_(magazine)
Rocky Balboa's World Championship Belt is a prop that is based on "Ring Magazine" championship belts.
https://ring.com/
https://www.pymnts.com/news/security-and-risk/2019/amazon-ring-security-flaw-opened-door-to-hackers/
Amazon Ring fixed a security vulnerability in its Ring Video Doorbell Pro that could have potentially allowed hackers to get homeowners’ Wi-Fi passwords, TechCrunch reported on Thursday
https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/302780-leaked-ring-document-details-creepy-facial-recognition-neighborhood-watch-feature
Leaked Ring Document Details Creepy Facial Recognition Neighborhood Watch Feature
Amazon’s Ring subsidiary makes some of the most popular home security cameras, and it has leveraged that distinction to push its products with the help of police departments around the US. In return, Ring helps police gather footage from consumer cameras. Now, a newly leaked document reveals Ring’s ultimate plans to create “neighborhood watch lists” based on facial recognition.
Most companies that make and sell consumer security cameras are very careful about the sharing features they add, but Ring expends great effort to get its customers to use its “Neighbors” app. After signing up, Ring users across a neighborhood can share video and communicate with each other. However, this is also how Ring entices police to help it push its products.
Ring partners with about 400 police departments, giving officers access to the Neighbors portal where they can request video footage from users. Ring gives police points for people who sign up for Neighbors in their jurisdiction, which entitles police to free Ring cameras that they can distribute to the community. Many privacy advocates have expressed alarm at the way Ring has constructed what amounts to a private surveillance network for police with essentially no oversight.
Ring hasn’t implemented facial recognition on its cameras, but the leaked document acquired by The Intercept shows how it would use that technology. The planning materials detail a system whereby people could identify certain people as “suspicious.” The Ring app might even prompt people to mark people as “suspicious” if it believes they are acting in a suspicious manner, whatever that means. AI would remember those faces, and alert other Ring users if the same face shows up in their video feed.
The documents also make repeated mention of aiding law enforcement, but a private company’s facial recognition tech doesn’t seem like the most responsible way to fight crime. The company floats “proactive suspect matching,” which would identify people suspected of criminal behavior. It’s unclear how police would be involved here, but it’s possible they could provide images to be matched on Ring’s system.
The ACLU has noted that Ring’s proposed neighborhood watch system could simply allow people to create lists of “undesirables” who might sound alarms when they enter certain neighborhoods. We don’t know if Ring’s facial recognition would be accurate, and the idea of using this feature to inform police work could lead to undue harassment and even arrests.
Ring says it is not in the process of developing facial recognition or the neighborhood watch features described in the document. However, it doesn’t deny the documents are real.
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Senators Raise Privacy Fears With Amazon Over Ukraine Team Allegedly Having Unrestrained Access to Ring Security Cameras
https://www.newsweek.com/amazon-ring-surveillance-cameras-national-security-senators-read-letter-jeff-bezos-1473284
A handful of U.S. senators are demanding detailed information from Amazon about the national security implications of its home surveillance subsidiary Ring.
In a letter addressed to billionaire CEO Jeff Bezos, dated November 20, the political collective voiced fresh concerns about the data security and privacy protections built into the range of home security systems and the portal that lets police access users' video recordings.
The group referenced recent security blunders by the company and said Americans need to know who has access to Ring content, The Intercept reported.
"Ring devices routinely upload data, including video recordings, to Amazon's servers," the senators wrote. "Amazon therefore holds a vast amount of deeply sensitive data and footage detailing the lives of millions of Americans in and near their homes."
"If hackers or foreign actors were to gain access to this data, it would not only threaten the privacy and safety of the impacted Americans; it could also threaten U.S. national security," the senators' letter continued.
The detailed list of questions urges Amazon to respond by January 6 next year. It was signed by Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware alongside Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan.
The group warned that personal data of Ring users could potentially "be exploited by foreign intelligence services to amplify the impact of espionage and influence operations."
They made reference to recent research from cybersecurity firm Bitdefender, which found an issue in the Ring Video Doorbell Pro, since resolved, that could let hackers steal the owner's Wi-Fi credentials and "possibly mount a larger attack against the household network."
And they raised concerns about an alleged data sharing agreement in 2016 that gave "virtually unfettered access" to a research and development team based in Ukraine that included video content from every Ring camera in the world, as reported by The Intercept this year.
According to The Intercept, the files shared with the Ukraine team were not encrypted. In addition, a source told the website that Ring had given "highly privileged access" to executives in the U.S. that provided "round-the-clock live feeds" from some cameras, a claim denied by Ring.
At the time, a Ring spokesperson told The Intercept the firm has "strict policies in place for all our team members and holds team staff to a high ethical standard. The alleged security issues with the Ukraine-based "satellite office" was first reported by The Information.
The senators said the reports raised "serious questions about Ring's internal cybersecurity and privacy safeguards," particularly if the systems expose U.S. data to foreign countries.
"Americans who make the choice to install Ring products in and outside their homes do so under the assumption that they are as your website proclaims 'making the neighborhood safer,'" the letter continues. "As such, the American people have a right to know who else is looking at the data they provide to Ring, and if that data is secure from hackers."
The letter asks for details about what security measures are in place, if encryption is used in data transfers and how regularly the company performs security audits. In relation to Ukraine, the senators are asking for information about how many employees of Amazon and Ring have access to Americans' data and if any employees have access to live user feeds?
In recent months, Sen. Markey has been spearheading efforts to glean more information from Ring about its partnerships with 600-plus law enforcement agencies in America. Officers can use the portal to request videos taken on Ring cameras if it relates to an investigation.
In a September letter, the politician said the Ring network "could easily create a surveillance network that places dangerous burdens on people of color and feeds racial anxieties." For its part, Amazon has largely stuck with its marketing tagline, saying the mission of the service has always been to make neighborhoods safer and help citizens to share crime data.
But spying and data privacy concerns have long been raised by top civil liberty and human rights groups, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the ACLU.
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"We hope that with the increased attention politicians are giving to Amazon's Ring, legislation to reign in and oversee ubiquitous surveillance and police partnerships will not be far behind," the EFF wrote in a blog post about the latest efforts by the five Democratic senators.
Amazon did not immediately respond to request for comment. The company announced it was purchasing Ring in February last year for a reported $1 billion, CNBC reported.
On Tuesday this week, Sen. Markey released some results of his ongoing investigation, saying that Ring "has no security requirements for law enforcement offices that get access to users' footage" and warning the firm "refuses to commit to not selling users' biometric data."
"Ring does not require law enforcement to delete materials shared through a video request after a certain period of time," Ring VP of Public Policy Brian Huseman conceded.
But Sen. Markey asserted earlier this week: "Amazon's Ring is marketed to help keep families safe, but privacy rights are in real danger as a result of company policies. Amazon is not doing enough to ensure that its products and practices do not run afoul of our civil liberties."
Letter to Jeff Bezos from 2018 found here:
https://gomez.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=371
https://gomez.house.gov/uploadedfiles/07272018_amazon_rekognition_letter_final.pdf
I am currently still digging to find the Nov 20th letter.
Found it!
Letter from the Senate to Bezos.
https://theintercept.com/document/2019/11/20/senators-letter-to-amazon-on-ring-cameras/
I got the document from "The Intercept", who seems to be doing most of the stories concerning Amazon/Ring's private and national security problems.
https://theintercept.com/2019/11/20/amazon-ring-security-senate/