Flock: Vagueness to Protect Data (and More)

An advisory from a Houston-area intelligence center, including members of the FBI and ICE, suggests that police officers be "as vague as permissible" about the reasons for using the Flock surveillance system. The goal is to avoid revealing sensitive information through public records requests.

The directive was issued after a redaction error inadvertently exposed the details of millions of people under surveillance nationwide, data which was then aggregated into a search tool called HaveIBeenFlocked.com. Instead of addressing the incident as an operational security problem related to the use of a large-scale commercial surveillance system, law enforcement perceives it as a direct threat to the safety of officers.

Details of Internal Communication

In an Officer Safety Situational Awareness Bulletin, the Houston Investigative Support Center, composed of members of Houston-area police departments, the FBI, the DEA, and ICE's Homeland Security Investigations, communicated that HaveIBeenFlocked "poses a significant officer safety risk, as suspects can determine if they are the target of an investigation and potentially retaliate against law enforcement and/or those cooperating with them."

The communication recommends that Flock administrators ensure that the reason for the query is "as vague as permissible," suggesting simply using the word "investigation."

Reactions and Implications

An FBI member forwarded the Houston Investigative Support Center's advisory to Atlanta-area police. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation-GISAC, an Atlanta-area fusion center, also issued a similar warning, as did a fusion center in Illinois. These fusion centers are intelligence sharing centers where state and local police collaborate with federal agencies.

The flurry of warnings highlights the operational security flaws in Flock's information sharing system, which makes the investigations of thousands of police departments vulnerable to a redaction error by any one of its customers. Furthermore, it underscores how law enforcement consistently and universally perceives itself as threatened by the people it is supposed to protect.

The request to be as vague as possible about the use of Flock raises further concerns, given that the police do not obtain a warrant to use the system and use it for a variety of purposes, not just for legitimate investigations. Flock search audit logs have been used to reveal officers who have used the system for illegal activities and to uncover cooperation between local police and ICE, as well as the search for a woman who had an abortion.