Belgian license plates searchable on the internet

When government services adopt the internet, there is always a risk of privacy data being exposed. By linking the license plate database to a web based reservation engine, this is just what can happen.

Last week I had to go to the yearly car inspection. The invitation in my mailbox contained the slogan "internet users can take the fast lane", so I checked out their website www.autosecurite.be.

On the site I could create an account and then book an appointment to have my vehicle inspected. In the search box, I could enter any part of a license plate. As a result, I got back a list of registered license plates, followed by the make/type/colour of the car.

This week they removed the search option and the indication of the color of the car. But I can still check what car belongs to what license plate. I do hope that the security behind this amateuristic website is up to par. It is not unthinkable that you can also find out owner or vehicle data.

So next time you spot something like a BMW M5, look up his license plate to see if in reality it's not a rebadged 520!