Car hacking scientists agree to delay paper that could unlock Porsches

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/jul/30/car-hacking-ignition-injunction

By Lisa O'Carroll
theguardian.com
30 July 2013

The University of Birmingham says it will defer any publication of an 
academic paper which reveals secret codes to bypass the security on 
top-end cars including Porsches and Bentleys following a high court 
injunction.

It said it was "disappointed" with the judgement in a statement following 
the Guardian's revelation that the cryptography research of three British 
and Dutch academics had prompted legal action by the cars' manufacturer 
Volkswagen.

The motoring giant had argued that the work of Birmingham's computer 
scientist Flavio Garcia and two Dutch colleagues from the Raboud 
University could lead to the theft of not just the luxury cars but also of 
lower-end people-carriers and other makes, including Audis which use its 
Megamos Crypto algorithm. That algorithm allows the car to verify the 
identity of the ignition key.

Volkswagen complained to the judge that the publication could "allow 
someone, especially a sophisticated criminal gang with the right tools, to 
break the security and steal a car".

[...]



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