New surveillance tech links your phone to your license plate

Researchers show roadside cameras plus Bluetooth signals can link phones to license plates, enabling richer tracking.

Ars Technica reports on new surveillance research showing that combining roadside camera license plate recognition with phone Bluetooth signals can associate specific devices with specific vehicles. The approach could turn existing traffic cameras into far richer tracking tools that follow both a car and its occupant's phone. The work raises significant privacy and civil liberties concerns.

• Roadside cameras paired with Bluetooth can tie phones to plates
• Turns existing traffic infrastructure into richer tracking tools
• Enables following both vehicle and occupant's device