Flock Exposed Its AI-Powered Cameras to the Internet. We Tracked Ourselves
404 Media reports that livestreams and admin portals for at least 60 of Flock’s Condor pan-tilt-zoom cameras were reachable on the open internet without a login. In addition to watching people in real time, the exposed interfaces reportedly allowed downloading archived footage (up to 30 days) and interacting with device settings and diagnostics.
The story is a sharp reminder that “AI-powered” surveillance is still, at its core, internet-connected infrastructure—and the failure mode isn’t a model making a bad prediction, it’s a camera becoming a public broadcast. Condor is explicitly marketed for tracking people (not just vehicles), which raises the stakes for both privacy and physical safety if feeds can be discovered and abused. It’s also a procurement lesson: cities and organizations buying surveillance systems should be demanding secure-by-default deployment, regular external testing, and clear accountability when systems are exposed.
It’s the kind of gap that can be exploited for stalking or harassment with minimal effort.