That was my immediate reaction. And it's very common for organizations to assume that we see an email from them or get a phone call or find a website claiming to be them and trust it.
It's amazing how hard it is for people to grasp that I don't know who they are.
Also, to what extent can Ring verify that requests are from a real police officer who is currently employed? How rapidly can they invalidate portal credentials after an officer is fired? Do departments use shared credentials for these portals, and if so, how frequently are they rotated?
Would be great if there was a national database of law enforcement officers' name and badge numbers, that typing in both with a match would show any member of the public an official image of the officer's face. I'd love to be able to authenticate whether someone is a cop before letting them into my home: fake badges are cheap.
Similarly, would be cool to have a facial recognition database, so a citizen could take a picture of a cop's face to lookup name and badge number if they are a real cop, or report impersonation of an officer if they are not found.
Are there any repercussions if Ring discovers that a police department is using their network for unauthorized purposes? Like spying on women and people that have a personal beef with?
It's amazing how hard it is for people to grasp that I don't know who they are.