Colonel Panic Repurposes the OUI-SPY to Watch the Watchers, Track Flock and Similar Surveillance
Following the use of Flock Safety surveillance data in immigration raids, the OUI-SPY has a new firmware.
Pseudonymous security researcher "Colonel Panic" has released a microcontroller firmware designed to combat the reported misuse of Flock Safety surveillance cameras — by alerting you if there's one nearby: Flock You.
"Flock You is an advanced detection system designed to identify Flock Safety surveillance cameras and similar surveillance devices using multiple detection methodologies," Panic explains. "Built for the [Seeed Studio] XIAO ESP32S3 microcontroller, it provides real-time monitoring with audio alerts and comprehensive JSON output."
Flock Group, the company behind the Flock Safety range of products, was founded in 2017 to manufacture and operate surveillance cameras and gunfire location systems. While the company has enjoyed considerable success in the US, recent reports that it had started providing data for use in immigration raids — rather than for the purposes of active crime detection and prevention — have shone a light on the company's activities, above and beyond prior rulings that its data represents a Fourth Amendment search and thus cannot be used without a warrant.
It's in the face of this that Colonel Panic has released Flock You, which turns a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)- and Wi-Fi-enabled microcontroller into a detector for active Flock and similar surveillance systems in the area — allowing those who object to the company's activities to stay informed of exactly where they're deployed.
The firmware is primarily designed with Panic's OUI-SPY in mind — a two-board gadget designed originally as a Bluetooth Low Energy scanner or as a handheld device for radio "foxhunting," in which it locks onto a signal and beeps according to strength in order to lead players to their goal.
It's not exclusive to the OUI-SPY, however: at the heart of the OUI-SPY is a Seeed Studio XIAO ESP32S3, and Panic has included instructions on wiring a buzzer to an otherwise-unmodified XIAO ESP32S3 in order to make it compatible with the firmware and provide audible alerts when a camera is detected.
"Detection patterns are derived from actual field data," Panic claims, "including: Flock Safety camera signatures; Penguin surveillance device patterns; Pigvision system identifiers; extended battery and external antenna configurations. Datasets from deflock.me are included in the datasets/ folder of this repository, providing comprehensive device signatures and detection patterns for enhanced accuracy."
The firmware is available on GitHub under a custom license which states that it is to be used "for educational and research purposes" and with in "compliance with all applicable laws and regulations in your jurisdiction."