1308: Benn Jordan | The Surveillance State Stalking You Without Consent

What It Covers

Technologist and musician Benn Jordan exposes how Flock Safety's 100,000+ automated license plate reader cameras across the U.S. log vehicle movements into poorly secured databases, accessible to law enforcement, data brokers, and foreign actors. The system runs on deprecated Android software, lacks basic authentication, and merges with consumer data to build detailed profiles on ordinary citizens without consent.

Key Questions Answered

• •Security vulnerabilities: Flock Safety cameras run on Android 8 "Things," an operating system Google deprecated in 2021 with no further security updates. Jordan and researcher John Gaines found law enforcement accounts lacking two-factor authentication, meaning anyone with credentials — including foreign actors — can log in from anywhere globally and access live or stored footage from cameras across entire regions.
• •Data aggregation risk: A single Flock camera record becomes dangerous when merged with credit card transactions, social media posts, Strava routes, DMV records, criminal history, and data broker files. This combination eliminates anonymity entirely — transforming a vague vehicle sighting into a precise, timestamped profile identifying exactly who you are, where you were, what you bought, and what medical conditions you may have.
• •Foreign actor exposure: Jordan found active law enforcement account credentials for sale on dark web forums linked to Russian sources, indicating foreign intelligence services already have access to the Flock network. With 100,000+ cameras in U.S. urban areas, this represents a surveillance infrastructure more valuable to adversaries than TikTok or DJI drones — and far less scrutinized by policymakers.
• •"Nothing to hide" fallacy: What qualifies as suspicious behavior shifts with political administrations. The same camera network Texas police used to track women suspected of traveling out-of-state for abortions is now being used to support ICE immigration enforcement. Data retained for 15–30 days (longer in some states via legal loopholes) can be retroactively searched when legal definitions of wrongdoing change overnight.
• •Efficacy gap: Despite Tucson being saturated with Flock, Verkada, and Axon cameras at every intersection, none captured usable footage in the high-profile Megan Guthrie disappearance case. Flock's own efficacy research is authored internally with no peer review or independent citation. Decades of criminology research consistently supports community policing over surveillance infrastructure as the more effective crime-reduction method.
• •Hawthorne Effect on civil liberties: Documented behavioral research confirms people modify actions when observed, suppressing not just crime but also personal exploration, creative practice, and organic self-expression. Surveillance infrastructure installed in public spaces and neighborhoods produces a permanent chilling effect — discouraging lawful behavior ranging from learning new skills privately to physical activities adults would only attempt without an audience.