Flock Safety’s cameras are automated license plate readers (ALPRs) designed to help police find stolen cars or wanted suspects.
A joint investigation by 404 Media and WIRED, based on data recovered from a physically removed Flock camera, found that its on-device software explicitly detects people as well as vehicles, bicycles, and license plates.
Separately, Washington DC’s police union says the Metropolitan Police Department used Flock data to track officers under Internal Affairs investigation without their knowledge.
Together, these reports illustrate a privacy problem: A network built to record the movements of vehicles can readily be used to follow almost anyone. The latest reporting adds an important technical detail to that debate.
Read more…
Source: MalwareBytes Labs
Sign up for the Cyber Security Review Newsletter
The latest cyber security news and insights delivered right to your inbox
Related:
- DHS awards Booz Allen $1 billion cybersecurity contract
August 21, 2018
The Department of Homeland Security announced Tuesday it is awarding a $1.03 billion contract to Booz Allen Hamilton to boost cybersecurity vulnerability detection and mitigation in six federal agencies. Why it matters: Almost 75% of agencies are vulnerable to cyberattacks because they don’t understand their risk, the Office of Management and Budget found earlier this year. This is not Booz Allen’s first ...
- China aims to narrow cyberwarfare gap with US
August 17, 2018
China is looking to narrow the gap with the US in terms of cyberwarfare capabilities, according to an assessment of Chinese military capabilities published by the Department of Defense (DoD). The Pentagon report said that in recent years the Chinese army has emphasized the importance of cyberspace for national security because of the country’s increasing reliance on ...
- US voting systems: Full of holes, loaded with pop music, and ‘hacked’ by an 11-year-old
August 13, 2018
DEF CON Hackers of all ages have been investigating America’s voting machine tech, and the results weren’t great. For instance, one 11-year-old apparently managed to hack and alter a simulated Secretary of State election results webpage in 10 minutes. The Vote Hacking Village, one of the most packed-out locations at this year’s DEF CON hacking conference in Las ...
- DOJ Nab Three FIN7 Cybercrime Suspects in Europe
August 1, 2018
Three people believed to be member of the FIN7 (or Carbanak) hacking group have been arrested in Europe, according to the US DOJ. Three suspected members of the FIN7 cybercrime group have been arrested in Europe and accused of hacking more than 120 U.S.-based companies with the intent of stealing bank cards. In total, U.S. Department of ...
- New Homeland Security Center to Guard Against Cyberattacks
July 31, 2018
Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen says the growing cyber threat cannot be underestimated and government and the public must work together to battle it. Nielsen spoke at a cybersecurity summit Tuesday. She announced the creation of the National Risk Management Center at the department. It’s aimed at guarding energy companies, banks and other industries against cyberattacks. ...
- Pentagon Circulates Software ‘Do Not Buy’ List
July 30, 2018
The US Department of Defence has begun circulating a “do not buy” list of software it considers to have Russian and Chinese connections, in the country’s latest tightening of restrictions on foreign tech influence. The Chinese and Russian governments have called previous US restrictions on companies such as Russian security software firm Kaspersky Lab and Chinese telecoms equipment ...