“We would like to take this opportunity to welcome all Windows 7 people who have come here to find a simple, fast and free alternative to Windows 7 which has reached its end of life and no longer provides security updates,” said Jerry Bezencon, Linux Lite creator and maintainer.
Linux Lite is a Linux distribution and based on Debian and Ubuntu and created by a team led by Jerry Bezencon. The distribution offers a lightweight desktop experience with a customized Xfce Desktop environment. It includes a set of Lite application to make the life easier for a novice Linux user.
Linux Lite is a ‘gateway operating system.’ It was created to make the transition from Windows to a Linux based operating system as smooth as possible.
Linux Lite makes the transition to a linux based operating system by offering a full, Microsoft compatible Office suite, familiar software like Firefox, Chrome, Teamviewer, VLC as well as full system back up tools, a comprehensive – easy to follow Help Manual to guide you on your journey, Steam so you can keep playing your Windows games and so much more familiar software.
What you can expect from Linux Lite?
A Desktop, taskbar and tray that have a familiar layout.– You get a fully featured FREE Microsoft compatible Office Suite in the form of LibreOffice.– The option to run familiar software such as Steam, DropBox, Kodi, OBS Studio, Skype, Spotify, Teamviewer all from within our Lite Software application.– A Welcome screen that greets you at first boot and makes setting up your Linux Lite install a breeze. Just click and go.– A Hardware Database containing over 30,000 existing pc configurations that is searchable. Herl my hardware run Linux Lite? Look here – https://www.linuxliteos.com/hardware.php– A friendly, welcoming Support Forum that will always do it’s best to find you answers.– A massive, searchable built-in and online Help Manual that covers all aspects of setting up, troubleshooting and working with Linux Lite.– A bundled powerful image editor Gimp that many refer to as a Photoshop competitor FREE in Linux Lite.– Familiar Desktop icons that get you quickly to where you want to go.VirtualBox Support:Out-of-the-box VirtualBox support for YouTube/Online Journalist reviewers and testers has been withdrawn. This was done to remove one more potential boot-up slow down from the list of variables. And there were cases where this has been a PITA for many users.
If you are reviewing or testing, install Linux Lite to the VM then do:Code: [Select]
sudo apt-get install virtualbox-guest-dkms virtualbox-guest-utils virtualbox-guest-x11
After a fresh install. You will then have the full experience that VirtualBox provides.
Source:
https://hackersonlineclub.com/linux-lite-4-8-os-released-as-windows-7-alternative/
Here’s a video, of why you should not install the Amazon Ring. The Ring invades the privacy of your friends and neighbours, in addition to your family.
https://twitter.com/Jessica_Holley/status/1204505193003573250/video/1
Home security company Ring and its parent corporation Amazon were hit with a lawsuit in federal court Thursday alleging that their cameras have been hacked on numerous occasions due to inadequate protections, confirming privacy advocates’ fears about the devices.
John Baker Orange of Alabama, the plaintiff in the case, said in the lawsuit (pdf) that his Ring security camera was recently hacked while his children were playing basketball outside of his home.
“Mr. Orange’s children were playing basketball when a voice came on through the camera’s two-way speaker system,” reads the lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. “An unknown person engaged with Mr. Orange’s children, commenting on their basketball play and encouraging them to get closer to the camera. Once Mr. Orange learned of the incident, he changed the password on the Ring camera and enabled two-factor authentication.”
“Ring does not fulfill its core promise of providing privacy and security for its customers, as its camera systems are fatally flawed,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit also cites the alarming breach of a Ring security camera in DeSoto County, Mississippi, where a hacker gained access to a device installed in an 8-year-old girl’s bedroom and began speaking to her.
“I’m your best friend,” the hacker said. “I’m Santa Claus.”
Each time I’ve watched this video it’s given me chills.
A Desoto County mother shared this Ring video with me. Four days after the camera was installed in her daughters’ room she says someone hacked the camera & began talking to her 8-year-old daughter.
More at 6 on #WMC5 pic.twitter.com/77xCekCnB0
— Jessica Holley (@Jessica_Holley) December 10, 2019
Privacy advocates and digital rights groups have long been sounding the alarm about the gaping security flaws in Ring devices.
**Comment
Amazon should warn parents NOT to install this in an area where children will dress/undress, play etc. This device is a paedophile’s dream – they can talk to children and watch them day and night. Its a bad world out there… and the risks are being ignored. If a parent can see their child in a bedroom – so can the rest of the world. For goodness sake, don’t buy these products.
Reference
Single sign on Thesis – 2016
https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:908334/FULLTEXT02.pdf
Step 1 -AWS Lightsail
AWS offer Lightsail, with Drupal. SimpleSAML can be configured to offer Single Sign On with the website. Select your AWS region eg Ireland or UK.
Select Linux > Drupal
Next, download SSH Keypairs
Step 1.1 – Download the keypair so that you can connect using SSH & Putty.
Select “Enable Automatic Snapshots” if you want a daily backup image taken.
For Linux-based instances, Lightsail uses Secure SHell (SSH) to connect to your instance (a virtual private server). SSH uses a key pair (a public key and a private key) to match the remote server to an authorized user.
Lightsail creates a default key pair in each AWS Region where you create an instance. Choose Download to download the default private key if you also want to connect to your Lightsail instance using an SSH client such as PuTTY.
Step 1.2 – Select AWS Plan – Free
There is a one month free plan on AWS. Use this for testing.
It’s important to both Name and TAG the instance. Then select the bright orange button “Create Instance”.
CREATE INSTANCE
Note that it will be in a “pending” state. Allow a few minutes for the status to change to “running“.
If you take the public IP listed – and paste this into a Chrome web browser, the Drupal web page will appear.
Once the status is running, select the 3 dots on the top right hand side. A drop down list for connect and manage appears.
Select 3 dots > manage > connect via SSH
Now, AWS doesn’t make using Putty to connect to SSH easy. There’s some additional config required, which isn’t needed for Windows (Remote desktop) connections.
You’ll need both the SSH key pair you downloaded earlier, putty and putty generator in order to connect using SSH.
Step 3: Configure PuTTYgen with your Lightsail private key
Now that you have a copy of your .pem key file, you can set up PuTTY using the PuTTY Key Generator (PuTTYgen).
-
Start PuTTYgen (for example, from the Start menu, choose All Programs, PuTTY, PuTTYgen).
-
Choose Load.
- By default, PuTTYgen displays only files with the
.ppkextension. To locate your.pemfile, select the option to display files of all types. -
Choose
lightsailDefaultKey.pem, and then press Open.PuTTYgen confirms that you successfully imported the key, and then you can choose OK.
Choose Save private key, and then confirm you don’t want to save it with a passphrase.
If you choose to create a passphrase as an extra measure of security, remember you will need to enter it every time you connect to your instance using PuTTY.
Specify a name and a location to save your private key, and then choose Save.
Close PuTTYgen.
Test your connection.
Open Putty. Enter Public IP of Lightsail server and browse to the AUTH directory. Browse to where you saved the Puttygen Private File.
Lightsail issues a PEM file by default. Don’t load this.
Browse to the PPK file. This is the private file that SSH needs to load.
Putty
Use putty to login with SSH using the PPK file.
User = bitnami
How do I get my bitnami password?
cat ./bitnami_credentials
cat $HOME/bitnami_application_password
Browse to Chrome, enter in public ip of server, user = user and password as from credentials.
Login as user
Notice the Shortcuts and edit tabs
Create a new Admin account. Add user Button.
Enter user Id. Role = Admin.
Next, use the new Admin account to install the SimpleSAML SP module
Browse to drupal site to locate latest SimpleSAML SP version
https://www.drupal.org/project/simplesamlphp_auth
Download (green button).
Extend Menu > URL or File Upload (of the new downloaded file).
Extend > Install the new module/file
SAML SP
https://www.drupal.org/project/saml_sp
Press Install button > Get confirmation screen
Error Message
I got an error message on the simplsamlphp install module.
Download Externalauth module
Extend > module > upload ExternalAuth > follow the onscreem prompts
Next we have to configure the SP
The SP is configured by an entry in config/authsources.php. The SimpleSAML Quickstart Guide is here:
https://simplesamlphp.org/docs/stable/simplesamlphp-sp
This is a minimal authsources.php for a SP:
<?php
$config = [
/* This is the name of this authentication source, and will be used to access it later. */
'default-sp' => [
'saml:SP',
],
];Use the locate command to find the authsources.php directories. This command will become very useful when dealing with Bitnami directories, as they are different from default install directories.
config/authsources.php – contains SP required attributes, LDAP Config
Bitnami does not use default directories, which is a shame. It gets VERY messy here, simply because the default directories for simplesaml do not apply.
The installation process will create several sub-directories under the directory:
/opt/bitnami
- Servers and related tools: apache2/, mysql/, postgresql/, apache-tomcat/, etc.
- Languages: php/, python/, ruby/, tcl/, etc.
- Application files: apps/phpMyAdmin/, apps/drupal/, apps/joomla/, apps/redmine/, etc.
- Common libraries: common/
- Licenses of the components included in the stack: licenses/
Drupal Directories
cd /opt/bitnami/apps/drupal/conf
README.txt states:
The rest of this guide assumes that you installed Bitnami Drupal
Stack in /home/user/drupal-8.7.5-0 on Linux or C:\Program Files\Bitnami Drup$
on Windows or /Applications/drupal-8.7.5-0 on OS X and that you use port
8080 for Apache on Linux and port 80 on Windows and 3306 for MySQL.
Starting & stopping a service.
To start/stop/restart application on Linux you can use the included ctlscript.sh utility, as shown below:
bitnami@ip-172-26-15-231:/$ locate *ctlscript.sh*
/opt/bitnami/ctlscript.sh
./ctlscript.sh (start|stop|restart)
./ctlscript.sh (start|stop|restart) mysql
./ctlscript.sh (start|stop|restart) apache
start – start the service(s)
stop – stop the service(s)
restart – restart or start the service(s)
sudo su –
root@ip-172-26-15-231:/opt/bitnami# ./ctlscript.sh status apache
apache already running
root@ip-172-26-15-231:/opt/bitnami# ./ctlscript.sh restart apache
The installation process will create several subfolders under the main
installation directory:
apache2/: Apache Web server.
php/: PHP Scripting Language.
mysql/: MySQL Database.
apps/
drupal/: Drupal application folder
conf/: Drupal Apache configuration files
htdocs/: Drupal PHP application files
phpMyAdmin/: phpMyAdmin application folder (optional)
As the Bitnami documents are weak regarding simplesaml, I switched to this site.
Install SimpleSAML to /var/simplesamlphp
Terminal
wget https://simplesamlphp.org/download?latest
tar zxf download?latest
Find the current version
ls simplesamplphp* – note down the version eg 18.3
Now, copy the contents of the directory to /var/simplesamlphp using the cp command. Be sure to replace the version number with the version you have:
sudo cp -a simplesamlphp-1.x.y/. /var/simplesamlphp/
The -a switch ensures that the file permissions are copied along with the files and folders. The dot at the end of the source file ensures everything in the source directory including hidden files gets copied to the destination directory.
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install php-xml php-mbstring php-curl php-memcache php-ldap memcached
Software check
php -m | grep ‘date\|dom\|hash\|json\|mbstring\|openssl\|pcre\|SPL\|zlib’
sudo systemctl restart apache2 (remember the bitnami directorys use the ./ctlscript.sh
cd /opt/bitnami/./ctlscript.sh restart apache
Next, we need to make several changes to the core SimpleSAMLphp configuration located at /var/simplesamlphp/config/config.php.
Finally! We can see the config.php.
nano /var/simplesamphp/config/config.php
Set the administrator password by locating the 'auth.adminpassword' line and replacing the default value of 123 with a more secure password. This password lets you access some of the pages in your SimpleSAMLphp installation web interface. If you keep the default password of 123, it will error.
/var/simplesamlphp/config/config.php
. . .
'auth.adminpassword' => 'your_admin_password',
. . .'timezone' => null,UK timezone = ‘Europe/London’
Full list of timezones = https://www.php.net/manual/en/timezones.php
Database change to SQL
Save and close the file. You should now be able to access the site in your browser by visiting https://your_domain/simplesaml.
Apache file
Next the Apache file needs to be edited to include your server DNS or IP.
The Bitnami main config file for Apache is
/opt/bitnami/apache2/conf/httpd.conf
ServerName 172.26.15.231:80
Enter both public IP and private IP for server, with port 80, as shown.
Add an alias to the httpd.conf.
Alias /simplesaml /var/simplesamlphp/www
Add the directory and access rights
<Directory /var/simplesamlphp/www/>
Require all granted
</Directory>
SIMPLESAML Webpage
To display the main SimpleSAML home page in a web browser:
http://ip/simplesaml
The Configuration Tab runs diagnostics checks on the SimpleSAML php setup.
The Federation Tab is where we will upload the IDP metadata and format the metadata, after we have created the AWS SSO IDP metadata.
AWS SSO
Access your AWS free tier service. Enter in SSO on the service.
The next step is to create an AWS SSO login, generate the metadata for this IDP, and upload this to simplesaml.
Once the AWS SSO IDP is created, we need to tell the simplesaml config, about this IDP. The file that holds the metadata for a remote IDP is called “saml20-idp-remote.php”.
cd /var/simplesamlphp-1.18.3/config/metadata/saml20-idp-remote.php
Default config looks like this. At this point, you enter in the AWS SSO account you created earlier.
<?php
$metadata['https://example.com'] = [
'SingleSignOnService' => 'https://example.com/simplesaml/saml2/idp/SSOService.php',
'SingleLogoutService' => 'https://example.com/simplesaml/saml2/idp/SingleLogoutService.php',
'certificate' => 'example.pem',
];
Your Aws metadata in the saml idp remote config file will look like this (apologies for the artwork)
The XML Signature standard [14] defines the syntax and processing rules for creating, representing, and verifying XML-based digital signatures.
It is possible to sign a whole XML tree or only specific elements.
One XML Signature can cover several local or global resources.
A signature placed within the signed content is called an enveloped signature.
If the signature surrounds the signed parts, it is an enveloping signature.
A detached signature is neither inside nor a parent of the signed data.
Signatures are two-pass signatures: the hash value of the resource (DigestValue) along with the used hash algorithm (DigestMethod) and the URI reference to the resource are stored in a Reference element. Additionally, the Transforms element specifies the processing steps which are applied prior to digesting of the resource. Each signed resource is represented by a Reference element in the SignedInfo element. Therefore, SignedInfo is a collection of hash values and URIs. The SignedInfo itself is protected by the signature. The CanonicalizationMethod and the SignatureMethod element specify the algorithms used for canonicalization and signature creation, and are also embedded in SignedInfo. The Base64-encoded value of the computed signature is deposited in the SignatureValue element. In addition, the KeyInfo element facilitates the transport of signature relevant key management information. The Object is an optional element that may contain any data.
Reference:
https://www.usenix.org/system/files/conference/usenixsecurity12/sec12-final91.pdf
Germany banks are removing SMS OTP codes as part of the “What do you know” security function.
The report is here:
Article 4(30) of PSD2 defines knowledge as ‘something only the user knows’. Article 6 of the RTS refers to the requirement for PSPs to mitigate the risk that the element is ‘uncovered by, or disclosed to, unauthorised parties’ and to have mitigation measures in place ‘in order to prevent their disclosure to unauthorised parties’.
32. The EBA is of the view that the following elements could constitute a knowledge element: a password, a PIN, knowledge-based responses to challenges or questions, a passphrase and a memorised swiping path (as opposed to keystroke dynamics, namely the manner in which the PSU types or swipes, which may be considered an inherence element).
33. The EBA Opinion on the Implementation of the RTS stated that the card details and security code printed on the card would not constitute a knowledge element. In addition, while a card with a dynamic card security code may constitute a possession element, it would not constitute a knowledge element. That being said, in the event, for instance, that the card security code was not printed on the card and was sent separately to the PSU, in the same way as a PSP may send a PIN for a new card, it could constitute a knowledge element. The same may apply to virtual cards (where the PSU receives a single-use digital card number and card security code).
34. The same opinion also stated that a user ID (username) would not constitute a compliant knowledge element. Neither would an email address.
35. The EBA is also of the view that an OTP that contributes to providing evidence of possession would not constitute a knowledge element for approaches currently observed in the market. Indeed, knowledge, by contrast with possession, is an element that should exist prior to the initiation of the payment or the online access.
German banks are now leading the mitigation, and are stopping the use of SMS based OTP codes as a security check.
Reference:
https://www.zdnet.com/article/german-banks-are-moving-away-from-sms-one-time-passcodes/
This is the best visual guide to installing Centos 8 on Virtual Box that I can find!
Full kudos to the author – go check out his blog.
https://linuxhint.com/install_centos8_virtualbox/
Downloading CentOS 8 ISO Installation Image:
First, you have to download CentOS 8 ISO installation image from the official website of CentOS.
Visit the official website of CentOS and click on CentOS Linux DVD ISO button as marked in the screenshot below.
Now, click on the mirror link that is geographically closer to you.
Now, select Save File and click on OK.
Your browser should start downloading the CentOS 8 ISO installation image. It may take a while for the download to complete.
Creating a VirtualBox Virtual Machine for CentOS 8:
Open VirtualBox and click on New.
Now, type in a name for the Virtual Machine (VM), select the Type to Linux and Version to Red Hat (64-bit). Then, click on Next >.
Now, you have to set how much Memory (RAM) you want to allocate to the VM. For headless servers, 1 GB or 1024 MB is enough. For server with graphical user interface, it should be at least 2GB or 2048 MB. Then, click on Next >.
Now, you have to create a virtual hard disk. Select, Create a virtual hard disk now and click on Create.
Now, click on Next >.
Click on Next >.
Now, you have to set the virtual hard disk size. 20 GB is enough for more task.
Then, click on Create.
A new VM should be created. Now, select the VM and click on Settings.
Now, go to the Storage section. Then, click on Empty in Controller: IDE, then click on the CD icon and click on Choose Virtual Optical Disk File…
Now, select the CentOS 8 ISO installation image and click on Open.
Now, click on OK.
Now, select the VM and click on Start.
The VM should start and you should see the GRUB boot menu as you can see in the screenshot below.
Installing CentOS 8 on VirtualBox VM:
Now, select Install CentOS Linux 8.0.1905 from the GRUB menu and press <Enter>.
The CentOS 8 installer should work. Now, you can install CentOS 8 as usual on the virtual machine.
Select your language and click on Continue.
Now, click on Installation Destination.
Now, select the virtual hard drive, select Automatic from Storage Configuration section and click on Done.
Now, click on Network & Host Name.
Type in a host name and click on Apply. Then, click on Done.
If you want to install CentOS 8 server with graphical user interface, then you don’t have to do anything else.
But, if you want to install CentOS 8 headless server, then click on Software Selection.
Now, select Server and click on Done.
If you want to set up your time zone, click on Time & Date.
Now, select your Region and City and click on Done.
Once you’re happy, click on Begin Installation.
The installation should start.
Now, you have to create a new login user. To do that, click on User Creation.
Type in your personal information, check Make this user administrator and click on Done.
The installation should continue.
Once the installation is complete, click on Reboot.
VirtualBox VM may boot from the CentOS 8 Installation DVD again. To avoid that, click on Devices > Optical Drives > Remove disk from virtual drive.
Click on Force Unmount.
Now, click on Machine > Reset to reset the VM.
Click on Reset to confirm the action.
Now, the VM should boot from the virtual hard drive.
Once CentOS 8 boots, you can login using the username and password that you’ve set during the installation.
Reference:
Here’s how you can get the SHA-256 fingerprint from the admin console of the Identity Provider.
Azure
- Go to your Azure portal
- Navigate to Azure Active Directory -> Enterprise Applications -> All Applications
- Search and open the Freshservice application that you have configured
- Click Quick Start and select Configure Single Sign-On
- Select Configure Freshservice on the configure SSO page
- This will open the configure singe-sign on screen on the right side
- Download the SAML XML Metadata
- In the metadata, copy all the content that is between <X509Certificate> and </X509Certificate>
- Follow the steps at the end of this solution article under the heading “Generating the fingerprint from the XML content“.
Okta
- Go to the Okta admin console and select Freshservice from the Applications list
- Select the Sign On tab
- Download the Metadata
- In the metadata, copy all the content that is between <X509Certificate> and </X509Certificate>
- Follow the steps at the end of this solution article under the heading “Generating the fingerprint from the XML content“.
OneLogin
- Go to the OneLogin admin console
- Navigate to Apps -> Company Apps -> Freshservice
- Go to the SSO Tab and select SHA 256 under the SAML Signature Algorithm dropdown and click View Details
- Select SHA 256 from the drop down. This will generate a new fingerprint
- Copy fingerprint and use it in Freshservice
Generating Fingerprint from the XML content
In the metadata, copy all the content that is between <X509Certificate> and </X509Certificate>
Select Format X509 Certificate to convert the Metadata into —BEGIN CERTIFICATE — X509 format.
Go to “Calculate Fingerprint” menu.
Paste in the formatted X508 metadata starting with —BEGIN Certificate—
- Go to https://www.samltool.com/fingerprint.php
- Follow the steps as shown below
Select the Algorithm and the fingerprint for the Certificate will be generated.
Reference:
RING, AMAZON’S CRIMEFIGHTING surveillance camera division, has crafted plans to use facial recognition software and its ever-expanding network of home security cameras to create AI-enabled neighborhood “watch lists,” according to internal documents reviewed by The Intercept.
The planning materials envision a seamless system whereby a Ring owner would be automatically alerted when an individual deemed “suspicious” was captured in their camera’s frame, something described as a “suspicious activity prompt.”
It’s unclear who would have access to these neighborhood watch lists, if implemented, or how exactly they would be compiled, but the documents refer repeatedly to law enforcement, and Ring has forged partnerships with police departments throughout the U.S., raising the possibility that the lists could be used to aid local authorities. The documents indicate that the lists would be available in Ring’s Neighbors app, through which Ring camera owners discuss potential porch and garage security threats with others nearby.
Ring spokesperson Yassi Shahmiri told The Intercept that “the features described are not in development or in use and Ring does not use facial recognition technology,” but would not answer further questions.
This month, in response to continued pressure from news reports and a list of questions sent by Massachusetts Sen. Edward Markey, Amazon conceded that facial recognition has been a “contemplated but unreleased feature” for Ring, but would only be added with “thoughtful design including privacy, security and user control.” Now, we know what at least some of that contemplation looked like.
Mohammad Tajsar, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, expressed concern over Ring’s willingness to plan the use of facial recognition watch lists, fearing that “giving police departments and consumers access to ‘watch listing’ capabilities on Ring devices encourages the creation of a digital redline in local neighborhoods, where cops in tandem with skeptical homeowners let machines create lists of undesirables unworthy of entrance into well-to-do areas.”
Legal scholars have long criticized the use of governmental watch lists in the United States for their potential to ensnare innocent people without due process. “When corporations create them,” said Tajsar, “the dangers are even more stark.” As difficult as it can be to obtain answers on the how and why behind a federal blacklist, American tech firms can work with even greater opacity: “Corporations often operate in an environment free from even the most basic regulation, without any transparency, with little oversight into how their products are built and used, and with no regulated mechanism to correct errors,” Tajsar said.
Mounting Concern About Ring
Once known only for its line of internet-connected doorbell cameras marketed to the geekily cautious, Ring has quickly turned into an icon of unsettling privatized surveillance. The Los Angeles company, now owned by Amazon, has been buffeted this year by reports of lax internal security, problematic law enforcement partnerships, and an overall blurring of the boundaries between public policing and private-sector engineering. Earlier this year, The Intercept published video of a special online portal Ring built so that police could access customer footage, as well as internal company emails about what Ring’s CEO described as the company’s war on “dirtbag criminals that steal our packages and rob our houses.”
Previous reporting by The Intercept and The Information revealed that Ring has at times struggled to make facial recognition work, instead relying on remote workers from Ring’s Ukraine office to manually “tag” people and objects found in customer video feeds. The automated approach to watch-listing described in the documents reviewed by The Intercept may seem less unsettling than that human-based approach, but it potentially allows for a litany of its own problems, like false positives and other forms of algorithmic bias.
Anyone moving past a home equipped with Ring cameras is unavoidably sucked into a tech company dragnet, potential fodder for overeager chatter among the suburban xenophobe set.
In its public-relations efforts, Ring has maintained that only thieves and would-be criminals need to worry about the company’s surveillance network and the Neighbors app. From the way Ring’s products are designed to the way they’re marketed, the notion of “suspicion” remains front and center; Ring promises a future in which “suspicious” people up to “suspicious” things can be safely monitored and deterred from afar.
But “suspicious” is an entirely squishy concept with some very potentially dangerous interpretations, a byword of dog-whistling neighborhood racists who hope to drape garden-variety prejudice beneath the mantle of public safety. The fact remains that anyone moving past a home equipped with Ring cameras is unavoidably sucked into a tech company dragnet, potential fodder for overeager chatter among the suburban xenophobe set. To civil libertarians, privacy scholars, and anyone generally nervous about the prospect of their neighbors forming a collective, artificially intelligent video panopticon maintained by Amazon for unregulated use by police, Ring’s potential consequences for a community are clear.
Earlier this fall, Motherboard reported on a push by Ring to encourage camera owners to seek out, identify, and report to police anything and anyone they considered “unusual” in exchange for product discounts. According to the story, Ring “encouraged people to report all ‘suspicious activity,’ including loitering, ‘strange vans and cars,’ ‘people posing as utility workers,’ and people walking down the street and looking into car windows.”
Reference:
https://theintercept.com/2019/11/26/amazon-ring-home-security-facial-recognition/
