Automatic license plate reader (ALPR) company Flock exposed the reasons cops conducted searches, and sometimes the specific searched license plates, in common search engines like DuckDuckGo and Bing, according to tests by privacy advocates and 404 Media and a statement from the company.
The news marks an unusual data breach, and shows that sometimes surveillance technology can leak data in unexpected ways. 404 Media previously reported that Flock exposed the live feeds of some of its cameras.
In May the NoCo Privacy Coalition, an activist organization focused on Northern Colorado, shared with 404 Media multiple search engine results that appeared to expose some data related to Flock searches.
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Do you know anything else about Flock? I would love to hear from you. Using a non-work device, you can message me securely on Signal at joseph.404 or send me an email at joseph@404media.co.
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