August 10, 2008 MIT students blocked from revealing MBTA fare tips

BOSTON (AP) - The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is suing three MIT students who say they've found security flaws in the T's automated fare system.

The three planned to make their findings public at a Las Vegas computer hacker conference, but the MBTA was granted a court injunction barring them from revealing what they found about the CharlieCard and CharlieTicket system.

The MBTA alleges in court documents that the three claimed to have circumvented the security protocols of the ticketing system, according to the Boston Sunday Globe. The suit claims the three offered free subway rides for life to people over the Internet.

The suit also named MIT as a defendant.

Lawyers for the three did not return phone calls to the Globe.

Information from: The Boston Globe, http://www.boston.com/globe

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)