"Let me tell you the storyOf a man named Charlie
On a tragic and fateful day
He put ten cents in his pocket,
Kissed his wife and family
Went to ride on the MTA"
© Jacqueline Steiner, and B. Lomax-Hawes
The MBTA, Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (Boston subways and street trains) - made famous in this song for their fare increase - is on the hot seat again.
From our Esoteric Files... Back in early August, the Massachussetts Bay Transit Authority successfully prevented a small group of students from giving a presentation at DEFCON that would have highlighted failures in the CharlieCard RFID system that the MBTA currently uses. Although eventually overturned, the injunction and corresponding gag order that the MBTA was temporarily granted did prevent the students from giving their original presentation.
Now, ironically, it turns out that all the MBTA's effort was for nothing, as researchers based in the Netherlands have successfully cracked the MIFARE Classic crypotographic cipher that's currently used in multiple mass transit systems across the globe. (more) (presentation)
