The Cameras Were Watching the Public. Then Anyone Online Could Watch Through Them

by Brandon Burley

The Redemption Project Newsroom

The surveillance camera was mounted above an intersection in Bakersfield, California.

404 Media reporter Jason Koebler stood beneath it, pulled out his phone and opened a livestream.

He could see himself.

The camera was recording him from above while the same footage appeared on his screen without a username or password.

Anyone who found the exposed interface could watch too.

The camera was supposed to give police and public-safety officials a better view of the intersection.

Instead, it was streaming that view to the open internet.

Investigative reporting published in December 2025 found that livestreams connected to at least 60 Flock Safety Condor cameras were publicly accessible. Researchers reported finding cameras watching intersections, parking lots, walking trails, playgrounds and other public spaces across the country.

Flock said the problem resulted from a limited configuration issue affecting a small number of devices. The company said affected customers were notified and the exposure was corrected.

The incident did not expose Flock’s primary license plate reader database.

That distinction matters.

It does not make the exposure unimportant.

---

These were not Flock’s standard plate readers

Article one focused on Flock’s Falcon automated license plate readers.

Falcon cameras generally capture vehicles as they pass. They create searchable records based on plates, vehicle characteristics, time and location.

The cameras involved in the December exposure were different.

Flock’s Condor cameras provide live and recorded video. Some models can pan, tilt and zoom. According to the company’s product materials, the system also can use artificial intelligence to detect and follow people or vehicles moving through a camera’s field of view.

A Condor camera may watch an intersection, park, parking lot, trail or other public area continuously rather than waiting for a vehicle to cross a fixed capture point.

Flock markets the cameras as tools for situational awareness, officer safety and investigations. An operator can watch an unfolding emergency, review recorded video after a crime or follow movement across a monitored area.