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The hacker collective stegan0gram said it removed a Flock Safety automated license-plate-reader camera from a roadway, disarmed it, and reverse engineered its hardware, solar equipment, and Android-based operating system. The group copied nearly all data held on the device—including thousands of videos, still images, and operational logs—and shared material with WIRED and 404 Media.
The extracted data reportedly showed one camera captured roughly 1.6 million images of 50,000 vehicles in 21 days, illustrating the scale of Flock's vehicle-tracking collection. Researchers said unencrypted vendor and media partitions were accessible; an encryption key in the media partition allegedly unlocked another partition containing much of the captured imagery. Flock cameras upload vehicle images and associated metadata to searchable Flock servers used by authorized agencies, including participants in its national network.
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The copied dataset showed that one Flock camera captured approximately 1.6 million images of roughly 50,000 vehicles over 21 days. The materials included thousands of videos and logs that revealed operational details of how the system tracks vehicles and people.
Stegan0gram reported accessing the camera's Android OS and finding unencrypted storage partitions, including a media partition containing an encryption key. The group said the key unlocked another partition holding much of the camera's captured videos and still images.
The stegan0gram hacker collective said it removed a Flock Safety camera from above a roadway, disarmed it, copied nearly all data on it, and reverse engineered the camera and associated solar equipment. The group shared extracted videos and operational logs with WIRED and 404 Media.
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Flock Safety’s network of roughly **90,000** vehicle-surveillance cameras is facing renewed scrutiny after a false alert tied to partial license plate matching reportedly led Minnesota police to stop and arrest a driver in a Jaguar Land Rover media fleet vehicle. According to the account, a stolen New Jersey manufacturer plate was entered into Flock’s system as `34 DTM`, omitting smaller middle digits and causing the platform to match a broader `34 ## DTM` pattern. Flock said the system operated as configured and that law enforcement wanted partial-plate matching so officers could receive alerts even when plate data is incomplete. The incident has intensified criticism of Flock’s broader surveillance model, which uses Falcon automatic license plate reader cameras and Condor pan-tilt-zoom cameras to capture vehicle images and metadata, transmit them over cellular networks, and store searchable records in Flock’s cloud platform on Amazon Web Services. Privacy advocates and former law enforcement officials warn that shared cross-agency access, AI-assisted searches, insider misuse, and person-tracking capabilities can reconstruct individuals’ movements and turn bad data into dangerous police encounters. Public opposition has also grown in some communities, including Saranac Lake, where residents pushed officials to cancel a Flock contract and remove cameras.
Jul 21, 2026
New York advocacy groups allege that state and local police searched **Flock Safety** automated license-plate-reader (ALPR) data for ICE and CBP-related purposes, sometimes logging the requests under generic investigative labels. Separately, reporting has identified dozens of U.S. officers accused, investigated, fired, or arrested for unauthorized ALPR searches, including alleged personal surveillance of romantic partners. The allegations have renewed calls for stricter audit reviews, access controls, retention limits, and restrictions on sharing vehicle-location data with immigration authorities. Scrutiny also extends to the scale of Flock’s network and the wider ALPR market. Flock reportedly explored using Nexar dashcams in rideshare and delivery vehicles to expand law-enforcement-accessible plate collection, though the company said the partnership did not materialize. Flock has reduced default retention from 30 days to one week and added safeguards, but agencies may be able to change those settings. Municipalities are reconsidering deployments: Manchester, Vermont, tabled a decision on its five cameras amid privacy and AI false-positive concerns, while other cities have disabled systems and opposition has included alleged camera vandalism. Civil-liberties advocates warn that alternative providers, including Motorola Solutions/Vigilant and Axon, create comparable mass-surveillance risks.
Sep 4, 2026
Flock Safety announced privacy and security reforms for its automated license plate reader network after backlash over law enforcement misuse of the platform. The company said it will reduce its standard data retention period from 30 days to seven days, require officers to enter a reason or case code for searches except in genuine emergencies, and let agencies restrict what offense categories can be shared with other municipalities. Flock also introduced **Evidence Mode**, which allows longer preservation of data when permitted by local policy and tied to an investigation. The company said its **Audit Assistance** feature, which flags unusual search behavior for administrator review and can automatically lock out users, will become mandatory for all law enforcement customers by the end of the year. The changes follow reports that officers used Flock systems to stalk romantic partners and other individuals, including a Georgia case involving former sheriff’s deputies, while privacy advocates and researchers have questioned the tool’s transparency and whether independent auditing is needed. Flock defended the changes by saying most searches occur within a week and that its cameras were used in about 1 million investigations last year, including cases that helped locate roughly 10,000 missing people.
Aug 14, 2026