Cameras recording license plates raise surveillance and freedom of speech concerns in US
Searches of a database of images captured by LPR (license plate recognition) cameras have revealed photographs of lawn signs, bumper stickers, t-shirts and other items that Americans use to express their values, beliefs and opinions.
The database, operated by an LPR company owned by Motorola Solutions, also records location details for each image, thus potentially identifying the people whose views are expressed on the photographed items. The database is used by private investigators, repossession agents, and insurance companies. Another Motorola-owned company, Vigilant, gives police officers access to the same dataset.
A spokesperson for the American Civil Liberties Union said, "It really reveals the extent to which surveillance is happening on a mass scale in the quiet streets of America. That surveillance is not limited just to license plates, but also to a lot of other, potentially very revealing, information about people.”
The cameras, ostensibly intended as ANPR tools, may be statically installed on poles and buildings or mounted to vehicles. Much of the data comes from Motorola affiliates who drive around recording huge volumes of images for which they receive payment.
The public's faith in the appropriate use of such information is not helped by the fact that reports have shown widespread misuse of data by law enforcement officers over a period of years.
Hi-tech car frills presented hacking threat for Kia owners
A group of specialists has exposed serious vulnerabilities that enabled unauthorised control of many Kia car models. The group built an app which enabled them to access and control many functions including tracking a car’s location via GPS, starting and stopping the engine, locking and unlocking doors, activating its lights and horn, and even grabbing images from the car’s 360-degree cameras. Their hack also allowed them to access the owner's personal information, such as name, email address, phone number and physical address.
The group shared their findings with Kia, who eliminated the vulnerability before it and the exploit used to hack it, were publicly revealed. Alarmingly, it seems that the all the hackers needed was a car's license plate number. That was enough to give the researchers access to the car's systems and information. The cars used in the study were those of the hacking group and their friends. No other Kia owners' cars were hacked or data accessed.
Both Kia and hackers report that the vulnerability seems to have been eliminated, which will, no doubt, be a relief to Kia owners.
Rhode Island residents can order license plates with sharks on!
Many states in the US allow the production of themed license plates intended to promote and raise funds for charities, causes and community groups. Drivers in the state of Rhode Island can order plates bearing the image of a shark. The Atlantic Shark Institute, the organisation responsible for the plates, claim that they are the coolest license plates in the country. While that may be a matter of opinion, any contender would surely have to be pretty impressive to out-cool a dramatic shark image.
The shark represented on Rhode Island's themed plates is the shortfin mako. Growing up to 4m in length, the species is endangered and, while not common in Rhode Island, it is an occasional sight in local waters. The shortfin mako is one of the fastest swimming sharks. Makos have been known to attack humans occasionally but it's not a common occurrence.
Tesla loses latest court case over industrial action
We have reported several times the ongoing conflict between Tesla and Sweden's trade unions. In the saga's most recent court ruling, it was decided that Tesla cannot force a local mail service to deliver number plates to the company.
Problems began initially when Tesla refused to allow its employees in Sweden to negotiate wages using the county's generally accepted collective bargaining method. Various unions have supported Tesla employees in their dispute, including those at postal service Nordpost. The court said that the country’s constitution does not allow government agencies to intervene in labour disputes.
Tesla has further rights to appeal, and the issues with Nordpost haven't prevented the company from implementing workarounds to get number plates to its customers.
