A license plate reader camera company allowed U.S. Customs and Border Protection to access reader data in violation of state law, Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias said Monday.

Giannoulias said Flock Safety, which operates the nation's largest automated license plate reader system, permitted CBP to access cameras on Illinois roads and surveil drivers. Following a sample audit of 12 law enforcement agencies, the secretary of state's office said it found Flock didn't have the "proper safeguards" in place for datasharing.

That was "compounded by the fact that the company was running a pilot program with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which Flock leadership was unaware of," Giannoulias said in a news release.

Giannoulias then ordered the company to shut off the federal agen

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