- Comparitech Stack Report
- Posts
- Watching You, Funded by You
Watching You, Funded by You
Taylor Hawes
May 29, 2026
⚡ Weekend Threat Brief
Watching You, Funded by You
Around 21 million CCTV surveillance cameras operate across the UK, according to figures from the British Security Industry Association (BSIA). To measure how surveillance differs across the country, Comparitech submitted freedom of information requests to 380 UK councils and 45 police forces.
The investigation reviewed public surveillance infrastructure across councils and law enforcement agencies, including housing cameras, traffic monitoring systems, ANPR cameras, body cameras, police station cameras, and Facial Recognition Technology (FRT). The findings showed major differences in surveillance density between regions. Some councils and police forces are also expanding facial recognition deployments, raising concerns about AI-assisted tracking without public awareness or consent..
Takeaway:
Scottish councils recorded the highest ratio of cameras per 1,000 residents at 3.6.
North Ayrshire Council had the highest council camera ratio with 13.8 cameras per 1,000 people.
Hackney Council operated the highest number of council cameras at 3,281.
North Ayrshire, Hackney, Hammersmith and Fulham, Shetland Islands, Middlesbrough, Portsmouth City, and Clackmannanshire rank among the world’s most surveilled areas outside China-based estimates.
Preston City Council reported the highest number of facial recognition cameras at 120.
City of London Police had the highest police camera ratio with 48.9 cameras per 1,000 people.
Metropolitan Police operated the largest number of police cameras at 31,077.
🎯 Tactical Playbook
NSA Pushes Practical Zero Trust Guidance
The National Security Agency launched a dedicated Zero Trust Implementation Guidelines resource page designed to help organizations move from planning to execution. The guidance brings together technical references, deployment models, and security recommendations that support phased Zero Trust adoption. The initiative targets federal agencies, contractors, and enterprises that are still struggling with operational implementation.
Key Takeaway:
The NSA now provides centralized Zero Trust implementation resources.
The guidance focuses on practical deployment instead of theory alone.
Identity management, device trust, segmentation, and continuous monitoring remain core pillars.
Organizations can use the material to benchmark existing Zero Trust programs.
Security leaders should evaluate whether their current roadmap addresses operational gaps identified by the NSA.
🛡️ Research Watch
GAO Warns About Cybersecurity Weaknesses in US Water Systems
A new report covered by Government Accountability Office highlights growing cybersecurity weaknesses across US water infrastructure. The findings point to outdated operational technology, inconsistent security practices, and limited cyber expertise among water utilities. The report warns that many facilities remain exposed to ransomware, unauthorized access, and operational disruption risks.
🧩 Tool Tip of the Week
Using NinjaOne to Reduce Repetitive IT Work
gives IT teams a practical way to automate repetitive maintenance and endpoint management tasks from a centralized dashboard. Teams can automate patch deployment, scheduled scripts, software installation, health checks, and alert remediation without relying on multiple disconnected tools. This helps smaller IT departments reduce manual work while maintaining visibility across endpoints.
🗣️ Community Signal
Anonymised data is not considered personal data under the GDPR. Personal data was pseudonymized by the data controller, but ‘anonymised’ when sent to a sub-contractor, so they could do an analysis. The interpretation of anonymized data has been fuzzy, and will most probably continue to be so for a period of time. - Karen Lawrence
🗳️ Your Take - The Results
|
Until Monday’s edition - Let’s keep that zero-day count at zero!