Douglas County's Flock camera compromised as company leaves it exposed, livestreaming on internet
The short version: A Douglas County Flock camera reportedly leaked its live feed onto the open internet, showing that the surveillance risk isn't just government misuse but basic corporate security failure.
Our Take
Next 9NEWS is reporting something we've warned about for a while: these ALPR networks aren't just a privacy problem when they work as designed, they're a problem when they don't. A Flock camera in Douglas County was reportedly left exposed, livestreaming to anyone who knew where to look. That's not a hypothetical hacking scenario, that's a company running thousands of always-on cameras across the country without airtight controls on who can view the feed.
Flock's whole pitch to cities and police departments is trust us, this data is secure, this is only used for legitimate investigations. An exposed livestream undercuts that pitch entirely. If a camera meant to track every plate that passes a specific intersection can be seen by randoms on the internet, the conversation about oversight and accountability has to include the vendor's basic infosec practices, not just how cops are using the tool.
Every one of these incidents is a reminder that the cameras are already everywhere, often installed with little public debate. Check our map to see what's been deployed near you, and if you want to push back on it, our take-action page has steps for raising this with your local council.
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.