Ring introduces a new encryption standard, makes it the default for cloud features
Amazon's Ring is introducing a new encryption standard called TAKE (Throw Away the Key Encryption) to manage cloud-based video features. The system allows for temporary decryption to enable smart alerts while ensuring that users retain primary control over their encryption keys.
Why it matters
This development highlights the ongoing tension between user privacy and the functionality of cloud-based smart home devices, offering a middle-ground approach to data security.
Amazon’s smart home division, Ring, said on Wednesday that it is adopting a new encryption standard called TAKE (Throw Away the Key Encryption) as the default setting for video encryption and user control. The company says this standard lets it protect user privacy without relying on end-to-end encryption, which can restrict some features such as video search, video description, and shared trusted users.
Ring says the standard involves using a rotating set of encryption keys that are temporarily stored in the cloud and can only be accessed by the company to power features that users may have active. Once the request is completed, the company will delete the keys within 24 hours.
The standard also lets it temporarily decrypt and process users’ videos so it can offer cloud-based features like Smart Alerts, which can notify users when people, vehicles, or packages are in the camera’s field of view.
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