Flock Safety's Nova Platform Raises Data Source and Privacy Concerns
Flock Safety's Nova platform, which consolidates license plate reading and other data sources for police, reportedly includes information from breaches and hacked applications rather than only public records, raising privacy concerns among employees and observers about inadequate data sourcing practices.
What happened
Flock Safety announced its Nova platform, which unifies license plate reading, video, record management and other data sources for law enforcement agencies. According to a report from 404 Media citing leaks from a company meeting, some data accessible via Nova reportedly comes from breaches rather than public records or commercial sources, including information from a hacked parking meter app.
The company declined to comment publicly but a spokesperson denied any wrongdoing. Flock Safety has valued at $7.5 billion and recently purchased a drone company.
Reported impact
The disclosure raised privacy concerns among Flock employees and observers about the sources of personal data being made available through the platform to law enforcement.
Index analysis
Data brokers operate with loose regulations, and the sale of sensitive personal data and breached information occurs without comprehensive oversight. The lack of standards for how law enforcement agencies report their use of surveillance technology compounds transparency concerns.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.