Hackers Extract 1.6 Million Images from Flock License Plate Camera in Data Dump
Security researchers have published findings from a deep dive into a Flock Safety license plate camera, revealing the extent of data collection by these neighborhood surveillance devices.
The hacker collective obtained one of the fixed-location cameras and extracted its stored data, uncovering that a single device captured approximately 1.6 million images over 21 days, tracking roughly 50,000 unique vehicles. The extracted data included thousands of videos and system logs.
Perhaps most significantly, the analysis demonstrated that the cameras are capable of detecting people in addition to vehicles, raising questions about the scope of automated surveillance beyond traffic monitoring. The researchers were able to reconstruct how the system processes, stores, and transmits captured data.
The findings illustrate the growing ecosystem of automated license plate readers deployed by neighborhoods, HOAs, and municipalities, and the potential security implications of centralized surveillance infrastructure.