{“lastseen”:”2025-09-24T12:47:11″,”description”:”Police are using drones as flying automated license plate readers (ALPRs), according to a report by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).\\n\\nAnd where there is a market, a provider will jump in. Or was it the other way around this time? Flock Safety, for example, recently told a group of potential law enforcement customers interested in Drone as First Responder (DFR) programs that its drone can be used as a flying license plate reader camera as well.\\n\\nAn ALPR system is an intelligent surveillance system that automatically identifies and documents license plates of vehicles by using optical character recognition. This is not necessary for the drones’ main task\u2014it’s an extra feature.\\n\\nWe can definitely see the benefits of the DFR program, which tell police officers what to expect before they arrive at the scene. Increasing situational awareness by using drones makes it safer for both law enforcement officers and the public.\\n\\nThe problem is that drones equipped with ALPR technology can systematically record vehicle location and movement, indifferent to whether it’s in public or private spaces. Unlike fixed cameras, drones can reach places and angles otherwise inaccessible, so they can look in backyards, private driveways, and even through windows.\\n\\nDepending on the local circumstances, police DFR programs involve a fleet of drones, which can range in number from a few to a few hundred. Low operational costs enable police and their drones to collect and store enormous amounts of data. These practices increase the risk of breaches or leaks. Agencies often keep ALPR and drone-captured data well beyond its useful period, store it on centralized or external servers, and regularly share it with other agencies or federal authorities, according to the EFF.\\n\\nAccording to EFF\u2019s Atlas of Surveillance there are approximately 1,500 police departments known to have a drone program. A recent Wired investigation raised concerns about one police department\u2019s program, finding that roughly one in 10 drone flights lacked a stated purpose and for hundreds of deployment the reason was listed as \u201cunknown.\u201d\\n\\nThere is a thin line between unwarranted surveillance and accidental recordings. The EFF states:\\n\\n\\u003e \u201cWhile some states do require a warrant to use a drone to violate the privacy of a person\u2019s airspace, Alaska, California, Hawaii, and Vermont are currently the only states where courts have held that warrantless aerial surveillance violates residents\u2019 constitutional protections against unreasonable search and seizure absent specific exceptions.\u201d\\n\\nCombined with Artificial Intelligence (AI)\u2014and these are already operational\u2014drones can become a force to be reckoned with. But we need to start thinking about regulations to limit the privacy implications, so we don\u2019t end up in a surveillance-state society.\\n\\nFlock has previously described its desire to connect ALPR scans to additional information on the person who owns the car, meaning that we don\u2019t live far from a time when police may see your vehicle drive by and quickly learn that it\u2019s your car and a host of other details about you.\\n\\n* * *\\n\\n**We don ‘t just report on privacy\u2014we offer you the option to use it.**\\n\\nPrivacy risks should never spread beyond a headline. Keep your online privacy yours by using Malwarebytes Privacy VPN.”,”published”:”2025-09-24T12:34:32″,”modified”:”2025-09-24T12:34:32″,”type”:”malwarebytes”,”title”:”Police using drones to read your license plates, warns EFF”,”source”:””,”references”:””,”id”:”MALWAREBYTES:3514D3E9FFF6B5EECFA320F0817E34DC”,”bulletinFamily”:”blog”,”cwe”:null,”cvelist”:[],”sourceData”:””,”sourceHref”:””,”cvss”:{“score”:0,”severity”:”NONE”,”vector”:”NONE”,”version”:”NONE”},”cvss2″:{},”cvss3″:{“version”:””,”vectorString”:””,”baseScore”:0,”baseSeverity”:””,”attackVector”:””,”attackComplexity”:””,”privilegesRequired”:””,”userInteraction”:””,”scope”:””,”confidentialityImpact”:””,”integrityImpact”:””,”availabilityImpact”:””,”cvssV3″:{“version”:””,”vectorString”:””,”baseScore”:0,”baseSeverity”:””,”attackVector”:””,”attackComplexity”:””,”privilegesRequired”:””,”userInteraction”:””,”scope”:””,”confidentialityImpact”:””,”integrityImpact”:””,”availabilityImpact”:””}},”href”:”https:\/\/www.malwarebytes.com\/blog\/news\/2025\/09\/police-using-drones-to-read-your-license-plates-warns-eff”,”category_name”:”News”,”post_link”:””,”product”:””,”version”:””,”vendor”:””,”ai_description”:””,”ai_severity”:””,”ai_vendor”:””,”ai_product”:””,”ai_version”:””,”ai_score”:0}<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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