Hackers Stole Flock’s Camera Software, Revealing How the Company Tracks Cars and People

The internal software of Flock's car-tracking cameras has been exposed, revealing it detects people and not just vehicles.

Hackers have obtained the software from a Flock Safety camera, providing an unprecedented look into how the company tracks vehicles and people. A group, identifying as stegan0gram, physically removed a camera, copied its data, and extracted an encryption key. This allowed access to thousands of vehicle detection videos and logs. While sensitive storage remained encrypted, analysis revealed the software explicitly detects people, not just vehicles and license plates. The camera captured numerous images per vehicle, generating over a million images in a few weeks. This breach occurred despite Flock's claims of on-device encryption and follows previous security researcher findings that the company downplayed. The hackers are publishing their methods to encourage others to replicate their actions, highlighting ongoing public opposition to Flock's surveillance technology.

The extraction of Flock's camera software demonstrates a significant vulnerability in their security claims, particularly the assertion of on-device encryption. By obtaining an encryption key stored on the hardware itself, hackers bypassed these protections, revealing that the system's capabilities extend to human detection, a detail previously less emphasized. This breach not only compromises Flock's operational transparency but also intensifies scrutiny on the privacy implications of widespread automated surveillance technologies, potentially fueling further public resistance and regulatory action.

This incident directly impacts the trust placed in Flock Safety by law enforcement agencies and the public, as it exposes the granular data collection occurring at the edge device level. The ability to explicitly detect people, in addition to vehicles, broadens the scope of potential surveillance beyond what has been widely communicated. As a result, communities may demand greater transparency or outright bans on such technologies, forcing municipalities and police departments to re-evaluate their reliance on Flock's services and explore more privacy-preserving alternatives.