--- title: "This Tesla Surveillance Hack Can Tell You if You’re Being Followed" description: "Hacker and IT security analyst Truman Kain has created a surveillance tool that can tell you in real-time if you're being followed while driving your Tesla." date: "2019-08-14" modified: "2019-08-14" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/tesla-surveillance-hack" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Tesla" tags: - "digital security" - "facial recognition" - "hack" - "sentry mode" - "tesla" - "the digest" --- # This Tesla Surveillance Hack Can Tell You if You’re Being Followed ![Hacker and IT security analyst Truman Kain has created a surveillance tool that can tell you in real-time if you're being followed while driving your Tesla.]() *\Image: Tesla/Victor Tangermann\* ## It Follows Hacker and security analyst Truman Kain has [created a tool]() that can tell you in real-time if you're being followed while driving your Tesla. The "Surveillance Detection Scout" hack scans license plates and uses facial detection to create an in-depth log of cars your Tesla spots using its Sentry Mode camera software suite. https://youtu.be/_5jQ1S6vfak The list can then be accessed by the driver, and each license plate can be labelled as "linked to friend," "high risk," or "usual." The app can even show you the exact route each detected driver took on a map, including video footage. Kain released the [source code]() for the tool this weekend at DefCon, an annual hacker convention in Las Vegas, Nevada. ## Stalker Detected It's not exactly clear who Kain is targeting with the tool. It requires somebody especially paranoid — or criminal for that matter — to really get the most out of this Tesla hack. But it's a powerful demonstration of the amount of data a Tesla can collect — and how cutting edge facial recognition tech can keep a close tally of everybody around you without you having to bend a finger. Tesla owners have also used Sentry Mode, a system that uses the vehicle’s external cameras to keep an eye out for potential threats, to catch [plenty]() of [vandals]() before. Perhaps Tesla stalkers are next on the line. **READ MORE:** [Turn your Tesla into a CIA-like counter-surveillance tool with this hack]() \[*Electrek*\] **More on Tesla:** *[This Biohacker Implanted Her Tesla Model 3 Keycard Into Her Arm]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()