Hackers stole a Flock camera and found 27,321 video clips, 1.6 million images, and an encryption key

Hackers have stolen a Flock camera and discovered a significant amount of data, including 27,321 video clips, 1.6 million images, and an encryption key, which has raised concerns about the security of the company's license plate readers. The group, known as stegan0gram, physically removed the camera from above a roadway and retrieved its storage.

The hackers accessed unencrypted storage partitions within the Android-based device, where they found an encryption key that unlocked further areas containing recorded media. While most of the sensitive storage remained encrypted and inaccessible, some accessible footage included 27,321 MP4 files with a resolution of 1024 x 768, each lasting between one to two seconds.

The clips contained no audio and were separate from higher-resolution still images. The camera generated around 1.6 million images of 50,200 vehicles in a 21-day period, with each passing vehicle typically producing about 28 images, with some triggering over 100. The software identified people in 11 videos, all riding motorcycles, but it did not employ facial recognition.

The logs also revealed over 27,000 errors related to saving full-resolution images when storage was full, along with tens of thousands of other errors, crashes, and reboots. Flock's response to the incident was to warn that unauthorized removal and tampering of their cameras are illegal, but they refused to comment further on the findings.

The company had previously claimed that physical access would not expose captured footage, as images remained on the cameras only briefly after upload, a claim that appears contradicted by these revelations. This incident adds to Flock's troubled history, which includes allegations of police using the cameras to stalk former partners and officers entering false information to justify database searches. Cities are increasingly seeking to remove Flock's cameras due to these mounting issues.