Your Flock Camera Runs 2017 Software
The short version: A Security Weekly teardown finds Flock ALPR cameras running Android 8.1 and a Linux 3.18 kernel — ancient, unpatched software guarding your license plate data.
Our Take
Security Weekly's breakdown is a gut check for anyone who assumed these cameras are hardened, purpose-built surveillance gear. Android 8.1 hasn't gotten a security patch since Google stopped supporting it years ago, and a Linux 3.18 kernel is old enough to vote. That's not a minor nitpick — it means known, public exploits for years-old vulnerabilities could still be sitting wide open on boxes that silently log every car that passes a given corner, then feed that data into nationwide law enforcement networks.
Flock sells itself on being a modern, cloud-connected alternative to clunky old government tech. But if the hardware in the field is running patch levels frozen in 2018, the actual attack surface looks a lot more like abandoned Android tablet than cutting-edge infrastructure. Outdated firmware on a device that captures plates, timestamps, and location patterns isn't just a bug — it's a standing invitation for anyone who finds the right CVE to quietly siphon or spoof the very surveillance data police departments treat as reliable evidence.
This is exactly the kind of technical rot that gets buried under marketing about 'community safety.' Go check our camera map to see what's watching your own neighborhood, and if you want to push back on unaccountable surveillance infrastructure running on a half-decade-old patch cycle, our take-action page has the tools to start.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of Security Weekly - A CRA Resource, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.