AUTOMATED LICENSE PLATE READERS can be hacked via the Web. “Earlier this year, EFF learned that more than a hundred ALPR cameras were exposed online, often with totally open Web pages accessible by anyone with a browser. In five cases, we were able to track the cameras to their sources: St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office, Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, and the Kenner Police in Louisiana; Hialeah Police Department in Florida; and the University of Southern California’s public safety department. These cases are very similar, but unrelated to, major vulnerabilities in Boston’s ALPR network uncovered in September by DigBoston and the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism.”

Plus: “The systems the EFF accessed are sold and maintained by PIPS Technology. The EFF was able to access several stationary ALPR cameras and view live captures of plate data.”