A new kind of license-plate-reading camera will also scrape the smart devices you take with you, and wrap all that data in a nice little bow for law enforcement and the government.

Defense contractor Leonardo is promoting a new technology called SignalTrace that will package plate cameras with sensors that can scrape unique identifiers tied to your smart devices and make that data available to law enforcement.

Police, border security, and other government agencies already comprise Leonardo’s customer base, and with this technology, those clients seek to correlate footage from these cameras to phones, tablets, wearables, AirTags, and, naturally, the electronics inside cars themselves.

If SignalTrace can pick up your Bluetooth headphones, you can be sure it’ll also be looking out for your vehicle’s 5G hotspot, infotainment system, and even its tire pressure monitoring sensors. The company includes pet microchips as a potential entry point to tracking.

  • tristynalxander@mander.xyzEnglish
    67·
    19 hours ago

    If police can do this to normal citizens, normal citizens should be allowed to do this to the police. If they have nothing to hide, why would it be a problem?

    • Corkyskog@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      121·
      5 hours ago

      There was some politician talking about how Section 702 is expiring on Pod Save America and he goes on explaining why it’s so great and needed and then one of his selling points is that there is a carve out for politicians and I couldn’t be more enraged when I heard that. Like I get the point he is making, but if politicians are above the law why would they care about the laws they are writing?

      • Formfiller@lemmy.worldEnglish
        4·
        2 hours ago

        The court ruled we can record police but they DOJ just indicted people in Milwaukee for this so we’ll see where that case goes.

      • w3dd1e@lemmy.zipEnglish
        212·
        15 hours ago

        I’m pretty sure if you follow a cop with a drone camera they are going to find a way to charge you with something.

            • Kairos@lemmy.todayEnglish
              41·
              11 hours ago

              Eh it’s not that hard. The tech is just

              • BLE radar.
              • a webcam streaming to a cheap ALR program.
              • Other antennas as needed.

              Can’t be that expensive. How they come together (power, software) is an amount to work, along with maintenance.

              Edit: oh and the threat of the violence monopoly being angry at you.

              • ITGuyLevi@programming.devEnglish
                3·
                5 hours ago

                There is also the other path… Use the sensors they are installing everywhere, it’s not like security is a feature on most of these cameras.