MIT students sued over transit system hack

BOSTON, Aug. 10 (UPI) -- Three students are being sued by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority for allegedly hacking their way through ticketing security systems.

The MBTA's successful request for a temporary injunction alleged that the three Massachusetts Institute of Technology students offered "free subway rides for life" over the Internet and were planning to show others how to duplicate their techniques at an upcoming public presentation, reported The Boston Globe Sunday. Court documents filed Friday also included MIT as a defendant saying release of the information would cause "significant damage to the transit system."

But MIT defended the students' work as necessary for ensuring security improvements.

"Prohibition of open discussion of security vulnerabilities greatly harms the ability of researchers to function and has a chilling effect not only on publication, but on whether some important research is done in the first place, greatly stifling scientific advancement," said computer security researcher Eric Johanson.

The MBTA is seeking unspecified financial damages as well as an extended injunction preventing the students from publicizing their work until the transit authority can plug security holes.