Flock CEO: We haven’t ‘fired’ any police departments as customers
Flock CEO Garrett Langley said that the surveillance company has not canceled contracts of any police department or law enforcement agency, despite reports of abuse.
surveillance
FBI arrests OpenAI employee accused of planting hidden recording device in conference room
It’s not clear exactly for what purpose the recording device was used, but FBI director Kash Patel said the scheme was to “capture sensitive communications about the company’s super intelligence technology.”
Surveillance company Flock cuts staff as privacy backlash grows
Flock would not say if CEO Garrett Langley would take a pay cut following the reduction in workforce.
Senator asks US government watchdog to review how feds use hacking tools
Senator Ron Wyden sent a letter to the U.S. federal watchdog requesting a comprehensive review of how the FBI, DEA, ICE’s HSI, and the Secret Service use hacking tools and spyware against Americans.
US courts will start publishing how often the government uses spyware
The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts told TechCrunch that it will start disclosing how many times judges authorized the use of spyware to wiretap suspected criminals.
Flock says its new tool will help identify police abuse, but hasn’t explained how it works
The surveillance company announced it’s making a tool called “Audit Assistance” mandatory for all customers, claiming it’s already helped catch abuse. But the company has yet to explain how the tool works in detail, raising questions about its effectiveness.
Iran abused mobile networks’ vulnerabilities to locate US military in the Middle East, report says
The Iranian government exploited well-known flaws in cellphone networks to locate and then strike U.S. military personnel in the build-up and beginning of the war.
LAPD lets contract with surveillance giant Flock expire, citing ‘serious concerns’ over civil liberties and privacy
The LAPD, one of Flock’s biggest government customers, is ending its contract with the company citing civil liberties concerns.
In major privacy win, Supreme Court rules geofence warrants are protected by privacy rights
The Supreme Court’s decision to limit geofence warrants is a win for privacy advocates, who called their use unconstitutional but sought an outright ban.
Cellebrite said it cut off Russia, but Russia used is tools anyway
Security researchers found evidence that Russian authorities hacked the iPhone of a political opponent using a phone-unlocking device made by Cellebrite, even after the company said it would stop selling to Putin’s government.