Subway Hackers Defcon 2008 -- CNET News

The three MIT students sued by the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority over their talk planned for Defcon on hacking the subway system talk about how they felt when they learned about the suit. The suit was filed days after they met with the MBTA and felt that the issues were resolved.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Defcon
• 2008
• subway
• hacking
• RFID

[randomlaughingman]

Further point being, overall it's more trouble than just employing people as ticket conductors. They want to automate everything, and pretend it will run better that way. So drop x employees, replace with costly automated systems run/invented/tested by way less people (built for tiny wages...mostly)...how is anyone going to afford tickets etc when no-one has a job anymore.

[randomlaughingman]

That's the point - these systems are known to be exploitable, and they're implemented because it makes it easier for them to be cloned, misused, etc. That's why the govts and so forth never seem to listen about the flaws - who do you think gets the contracts to manufacture the systems, and implement them, and access the data they hold.

Consider the amount of people that worked on it, who continue to have access to the underlying system...the NWO is a big sham.

[sailorass]

Disscussion of the paper on public would help improve security on subways!

[scilonthreat]

But can they spell?

[milnusthegnome]

zzz it's so well known that the fakers never get caught and aren't famous. surprisingly enough, when youre caught you cant avert back to being a 'hacker' as you yourself have been caught. it's like thinking before you speak, it happens because it has to happen.

[baoi]

downloaded the powerpoint yesterday, and it was pretty interesting stuff, i just wished i understood all of it.

[NotDorky]

I wanna know how to hack my T pass so I can get free rides. Taxachusets does not deserve our money. They already screwed us over big time with the big dig. All these beurocrats in MA are worthless and I don't want to pay for a subway that is unreliable and stops running at 2am.

[nattymcg]

Subways should be free anyways. That's what we pay taxes for.

[strep2k]

.. but then we aren't talking about robbing banks, are we? We're talking about a system that is meant to carry your personal identity. I don't think most people would be OK with the fact that the RFID system, now being implemented into passports, driving licenses, etc - was easily exploitable. One could argue that every technology, present and future, may be exploited - but for a system meant to carry personal ID information - knowledge of such weaknesses should be known to all those exposed.

[mtndew9191]

you can tell people how to steal money from a bank and the government can't legally do anything about it, provided you place an appropriate explanation that it's for educational purposes only