Researchers say Flock cameras are easy to hack
The short version: 9NEWS reports Aurora is rolling out Flock drones just as researchers warn the company's camera network is alarmingly easy to hack, undercutting promises of secure surveillance.
Our Take
The timing here is almost too perfect. Aurora rolls out a shiny new fleet of Flock camera drones, and in the same news cycle, 9NEWS is reporting that researchers say the underlying Flock system is easy to hack. That's not a coincidence you can spin away with a press release about public safety. It's a reminder that every time a city adds another node to this surveillance web, it's also adding another potential point of failure.
Flock has built its pitch around trust: trust the algorithm, trust the vendor, trust that your plate data and movement history are locked down tight. But security researchers poking holes in that system so easily should worry anyone who thought 'searchable nationwide vehicle tracking network' was a comforting phrase. When the tech is this easy to compromise, the risk isn't hypothetical — it's your commute, your habits, your whereabouts, potentially exposed to anyone clever enough to find the gap.
Kudos to 9NEWS for pressing on this instead of just running the ribbon-cutting segment. This is exactly the kind of local reporting that keeps these rollouts honest. If you want to see how far this network already reaches near you, check our camera map, and if your city is considering expanding its Flock footprint, now's the time to speak up — see how to push back.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of Next 9NEWS, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.