# Hackers Crack Open a Flock Camera, Expose Mass Surveillance Secrets

- URL: https://twotakes.us/stories/hackers-crack-open-a-flock-camera-expose-mass-surveillance-secrets
- Published: 2026-09-19T07:11:56.821378+00:00
- Topics: surveillance, flock-safety, privacy, law-enforcement, hacking

## What the left says
- Police departments are using Flock's vast camera network to investigate minor, vague offenses like loitering, curfew violations, and homelessness rather than just serious crimes, revealing mission creep beyond the company's public safety marketing.
- The hack exposes a troubling gap between Flock's public claims of security and privacy protections and the reality that its systems explicitly track individual people, not just vehicles, raising concerns about surveillance overreach.
- The rise of this surveillance infrastructure coincides with broader political efforts to criminalize dissent and organizing, making unaccountable camera networks a tool that could be weaponized against activists and marginalized communities.
- Corporate claims that a technology 'eliminates crime' or exists solely to 'rescue children' deserve scrutiny when the same tools are quietly repurposed to police poverty and public presence.

## What the right says
- The hackers acted outside the law by tearing down and tampering with private property, and Flock is right to note that unauthorized removal of its cameras is illegal regardless of the findings.
- The exposed data shows real technical problems, including tens of thousands of storage errors, crashes, and misidentification of objects like bumper stickers and an American flag patch as license plates, undermining confidence in the system's reliability.
- Revelations that the software explicitly detects and logs people, not just vehicles, validate long-standing conservative concerns about government and corporate overreach into everyday citizens' movements.
- Growing public backlash, including local vandalism and Senate scrutiny led by Sen. Josh Hawley, shows bipartisan-style momentum for holding surveillance companies accountable through legitimate oversight rather than vigilante action.

## Common ground
- Flock's camera network has expanded rapidly, with more than 120,000–140,000 devices deployed across the country, most operated by Flock Safety.
- The hacked data confirms the cameras' software explicitly detects and logs people in addition to vehicles and license plates.
- Both sides acknowledge documented flaws in the system, including misidentifying objects like bumper stickers and flag patches as license plates.
- There is shared concern about the lack of transparency and accountability surrounding how this surveillance data is collected, stored, and used by law enforcement.

## Sources
- [Blaze Media](https://www.theblaze.com/news/flock-license-plate-camera-exposed) (Right)
- [New York Post](https://nypost.com/2026/09/18/us-news/suffolk-county-delays-controversial-rollout-of-flock-safetys-raven-listening-system/) (Lean Right)
- [The Intercept](https://theintercept.com/2026/09/09/flock-cameras-police-loitering-curfew-surveillance/) (Left)
- [The Nation](https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/flock-of-surveillance/) (Left)
- [Townhall](https://townhall.com/news/jeff-charles/2026/09/18/hackers-reveal-the-terrifying-truth-about-the-flock-surveillance-state-n2683175) (Right)
- [Washington Times](https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/sep/18/senate-grill-ceos-flock-surveillance-camera-networks/) (Right)

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