Hundreds of security cameras powered by artificial intelligence (AI) could soon be watching Chico students.
That’s after the school district’s board quietly approved a $2 million contract in December. Parents and teachers are now voicing privacy concerns.
On Wednesday, Feb. 18, the Chico Unified School District will be discussing the contract to install the surveillance system across its campuses.
Verkada, the company who makes the cameras, says its technology can help schools stay secure by keeping track of who steps foot on campus.
NSPR reached out to the superintendent and school board members for more information about the agreement and did not receive responses by deadline.
Here’s what to know.
What’s in the contract?
Board members approved the $2 million contract with Riverside Technologies at a Dec. 17 meeting. The contract was placed on the consent calendar as a routine item and was approved without discussion. It purchases the “Large Verkada Solution” for 10 years, which includes a selection of hundreds of high-tech cameras made by the Bay Area security tech company Verkada.
According to Verkada's website, the company's regular camera option comes with enough on-board storage for 30 days of continuously recorded footage. The company says its users can also store footage in the cloud using Amazon Web Services.
How do the cameras use AI?
Verkada bills itself as a “leader in cloud physical security” that is “transforming how organizations protect their people and places with an integrated, AI-powered platform.”
The company’s AI search tool allows customers to search for people and vehicles in what the company calls a “highly-detailed manner.”
Its cameras include a “People Analytics" function where users can use facial recognition technology to filter people based on specific attributes, like clothing color and apparent gender. A separate “Vehicle Analytics" tool allows users to filter results based on a car’s color and type.
Has Verkada experienced security breaches?
Yes.
In 2021, Bloomberg News reported that an international hacker group breached around 150,000 of Verkada’s security cameras. The hackers used a username and password for a company administrator account they found posted online to break into the system. They accessed video from inside schools, hospitals, prisons and private companies.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) fined Verkada nearly $3 million in response to the 2021 data breach, saying the company failed to secure videos and other personal data. The FTC said the breach gave hackers access to customer information, such as physical addresses and audio recordings. Since then, Verkada says it’s taken several steps to improve security.
The company has also come under fire for having a toxic and sexist work environment. In 2020, male employees at Verkada were accused of using the company’s technology to take photos of female employees and sharing them with sexually explicit messages in a private Slack channel.
Can law enforcement access the cameras?
Yes.
According to Verkada’s website, administrators can give law enforcement instant access to all camera feeds through direct links or user accounts.
What comes next?
The contract is back up for public discussion at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 18, at the Butte County Office of Education Carmichael Building, located at 2491 Carmichael Drive, Suite 300, in Chico.
The meeting can also be accessed remotely Zoom.
It’s typically posted on the district’s YouTube page by the end of week.
