serisec

Category: cars

  • On Flock License Plate Tracking Cameras

    On Flock License Plate Tracking Cameras A recent story of a writer who was mistakenly identified, tracked, and arrested using data from Flock cameras has gone viral. The New Jersey plates that were allegedly stolen from the LA dealer were 34 03 DTM, not 34 10 DTM. But when the police report was created and…

  • Flock Cameras Can Surveil Cars Without License Plates

    Flock Cameras Can Surveil Cars Without License Plates This is from a 2024 company presentation: Officers can also tap into data showing a car’s decals, bumper stickers, back and top racks—along with temporary and unique state tags. Flock calls it a “Vehicle Fingerprint” and it’s touted as a way for law enforcement officials to get…

  • Flock Cameras Are Being Used for Stalking

    Flock Cameras Are Being Used for Stalking There are over a dozen cases around the country where police officers are using the Flock surveillance camera system to obsessively and illegally stalk people. Alternate link. Bruce Schneier Go to bruce schneier

  • Enhanced License Plate Tracking

    Enhanced License Plate Tracking The surveillance company Leonardo wants more data: A surveillance company plans to add sensors to automatic license plate readers (ALPRs) that would mean the devices, as well as capture the license plate of passing vehicles, would also sweep up unique identifiers of mobile phones, wearables, and other Bluetooth-enabled devices in those…

  • Israel Hacked Traffic Cameras in Iran

    Israel Hacked Traffic Cameras in Iran Multiple news outlets are reporting on Israel’s hacking of Iranian traffic cameras and how they assisted with the killing of that country’s leadership. The New York Times has an on the intelligence operation more generally. Bruce Schneier Go to bruce schneier

  • Prompt Injection Via Road Signs

    Prompt Injection Via Road Signs Interesting research: “CHAI: Command Hijacking Against Embodied AI.” Abstract: Embodied Artificial Intelligence (AI) promises to handle edge cases in robotic vehicle systems where data is scarce by using common-sense reasoning grounded in perception and action to generalize beyond training distributions and adapt to novel real-world situations. These capabilities, however, also…

  • AI vs. Human Drivers

    AI vs. Human Drivers Two competing arguments are making the rounds. The first is by a neurosurgeon in the New York Times. In an op-ed that honestly sounds like it was paid for by Waymo, the author calls driverless cars a “public health breakthrough”: In medical research, there’s a practice of ending a study early…

  • Flok License Plate Surveillance

    Flok License Plate Surveillance The company Flok is surveilling us as we drive: A retired veteran named Lee Schmidt wanted to know how often Norfolk, Virginia’s 176 Flock Safety automated license-plate-reader cameras were tracking him. The answer, according to a U.S. District Court lawsuit filed in September, was more than four times a day, or…

  • Automatic License Plate Readers Are Coming to Schools

    Automatic License Plate Readers Are Coming to Schools Fears around children is opening up a new market for automatic license place readers. Bruce Schneier Go to bruce schneier

  • Self-Driving Car Video Footage

    Self-Driving Car Video Footage Two articles crossed my path recently. First, a discussion of all the video Waymo has from outside its cars: in this case related to the LA protests. Second, a discussion of all the video Tesla has from inside its cars. Lots of things are collecting lots of video of lots of…

  • Hacking Digital License Plates

    Hacking Digital License Plates Not everything needs to be digital and “smart.” License plates, for example: Josep Rodriguez, a researcher at security firm IOActive, has revealed a technique to “jailbreak” digital license plates sold by Reviver, the leading vendor of those plates in the US with 65,000 plates already sold. By removing a sticker on…

  • Friday Squid Blogging: Safe Quick Undercarriage Immobilization Device

    Friday Squid Blogging: Safe Quick Undercarriage Immobilization Device Fifteen years ago I blogged about a different SQUID. Here’s an update: Fleeing drivers are a common problem for law enforcement. They just won’t stop unless persuaded­—persuaded by bullets, barriers, spikes, or snares. Each option is risky business. Shooting up a fugitive’s car is one possibility. But…