License Plate Reading Firm Reportedly Building a Surveillance Tool for Cops Using Hacked Data

A controversial company that sells license plate readers has developed a new surveillance tool that pulls together disparate datasets and connects them to drivers’ car information. The tool, which is being marketed to cops, even uses information culled from data breaches and hacked data, a new report claims. 404 Media reports that Flock—whose invasive, car-tracking technology has previously been the subject of a lawsuit—is in the final stages of developing a tool called “Nova.” On its website, Flock says that Nova can connect “people, vehicles, and locations” and that it helps “solve crime and prevent the next one faster.” Flock also promises that Nova will bring “data together under one simple, predictable platform.” According to 404, Nova allows law enforcement to swiftly pull together info on a driver from a variety of different sources, including public records, “commercially available data” from data brokers, and law enforcement databases. It also utilizes information from data b ... Read full article.