Gag order lifted for MIT students
The MIT students who hacked the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority payment card system are free to speak once again, according to an Associated Press report. A federal judge lifted the gag order preventing the three from presenting on the transit system’s security vulnerabilities.
The students were scheduled to present their findings at DefCon, an annual computer hackers’ convention in Las Vegas, two weeks ago. But the MBTA was granted a temporary injunction that prevented the presentation.
The MBTA is continuing with its suit against the student and MIT stating that they violated the federal Computer Fraud & Abuse Act. The agency has also confirmed that there are security vulnerabilities with its transit card and is working to correct then, though it’s going to take five months.
While the gag order has been in place the students’ presentation has been available for download online. The 87-page report, “Anatomy of a Subway Hack,” details the variety of different ways the students were able to get free rides.
The MBTA uses MIFARE contactless technology, which has been compromised by a couple of researchers. Last month semiconductor manufacturer NXP sued Dutch university students to prevent them from releasing research about their hack of the company’s MIFARE cards. The judge dismissed the case and the hack will be released soon.
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