A hacking collective has revealed significant security flaws in Flock Safety’s roadside camera system, uncovering unencrypted data and exposing more than 27,000 clips from a single device, raising concerns over privacy and system integrity.
A hacking collective calling itself stegan0gram has apparently exposed a weakness in Flock Safety’s roadside camera system after removing one unit from a roadway and examining what it had stored. According to reporting by 404 Media and WIRED, the device’s Android-based system contained two unencrypted storage partitions, one of which held an encryption key that unlocked a separate archive of media files. Flock says its cameras use on-device encryption and that physical access is needed to exploit them, while images are only retained briefly before being sent to the cloud.
The haul from the single camera was large. 404 Media said the device had recorded about 1.6 million images over 21 days, along with 27,321 short MP4 clips. The same material showed roughly 50,200 vehicle detections and 11 people. The videos were low-resolution and only a second or two long, but the scale of the retained data undercuts the idea that the camera stores only fleeting local copies.
The analysis also suggests the cameras do more than read number plates. Flock’s processing for plate recognition, vehicle colour, make and model happens on its servers, but the edge software still flags people, bicycles, vehicles and plate-like shapes, then crops and uploads those images alongside the originals. A report from 404 Media said the system’s facial-detection functions appeared to be part of the stock operating system rather than an active camera feature.
The episode adds to long-running scrutiny of Flock’s surveillance network. The company’s cameras have drawn criticism over misuse, including cases in which officers were accused of using the system to track romantic partners, and one false plate read that led to an unnecessary police response. Some towns and cities have since ended contracts, while some opponents have taken to physically disabling cameras. Former Pawtucket police officer Noel Pichardo told the news website that such vandalism could persuade authorities the technology is indispensable.
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