New technology allows Flock to monitor your devices

Imagine a world where police can identify people on the move not just by their number plates, but also by the electronic devices they carry with them. A new sensor system from Leonardo US Cyber ​​​​and Security Solutions is designed to achieve exactly this goal.

The technology is aptly called SignalTrace, and it’s designed to detect Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and RFID signals emitted by (via) nearby devices. ArsTechnica). Leonardo’s idea is to deploy these sensors alongside automatic number plate recognition (ALPR) cameras like the Flock.

Here’s how surveillance works in theory: Let’s say you drive to work every day and there’s an ALPR camera on the road. It recognizes your number and registers it every day. Additionally, an accompanying SignalTrace sensor can pick up electronic signals emitted by your devices. This includes phones, tablets, laptops, smart watches, and more. may enter.

Over time, the system, which can analyze both ALPR camera data and SignalTrace data, notices a repeating pattern of a group of electronics in your vehicle.

This is where things get murky from a privacy perspective.

Leonardo says SignalTrace does not identify individuals or creating a database of citizens based on their devices. “The system only collects electronic signatures. These electronic signatures do not identify an individual,” the company wrote.

A counter to Leonardo’s argument can be found in the company’s statement. It states that an “electronic signature” does not identify a person. This is true, but SignalTrace is not designed to work by itself. It is designed to work alongside ALPR cameras.

Electronic signatures can be associated with a vehicle, given the repeating pattern of a group of devices that always appear next to a license plate. With a quick vehicle registration check, these electronic signatures can be linked to an ID. When placed in the hands of a bad officer, the technology can be misused to track a person’s movements.

What can SignalTrace be used for?

Leaving aside privacy concerns for a moment, the technology has legitimate law enforcement uses.

For example, let’s say the police are looking for a specific vehicle involved in a crime and have identified its license plate number. With SignalTrace, they can check all previously observed electronic signatures of a number, especially those that appear regularly.

This can give investigators another way to track a vehicle, even if the driver changes or covers the license plate to avoid ALPR camera detection.

However, this same feature can be a privacy concern.

Let’s say that the electronic signatures that the police were looking for on the same day appeared on a completely different car. This vehicle could be a person’s spouse, partner, sibling, friend, or even a colleague who is simply driving the person of interest.

Since the electronic signature is linked to the vehicle being tracked by the police, the appearance of the same signals in another vehicle can also identify a new vehicle, even if the owner of the second vehicle had no involvement in the crime.

So, while SignalTrace is a priority for police during investigations, it could be a way to turn the devices you carry around every day into trackers.

It’s worth noting that SignalTrace is not yet available in the real world, but Leonardo is actively recommending it to law enforcement agencies as a supplement to ALPR systems. Whether the technology will become a major addition to police surveillance systems remains to be seen.