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Judge lifts gag on MIT student hackers

Three MIT students who had been barred from making public online security flaws they discovered in Boston's transit system have received a go-ahead after a judge lifted the ban.

The three had hacked into the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) system exposing a flaw that could allow anyone to have free rides on the system "for life".

They planned to make their findings public at the Defcon hackers conference in Las Vegas earlier in August but the MBTA retaliated with a lawsuit claiming the move would violate US computer fraud laws, effectively gagging them.

However, a federal judge at the Boston federal court has lifted the gag saying that presenting an academic paper would not violate the said laws.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, which helped to defend the students, has lauded the move saying gag orders imposed on scientists were not good for a "marketplace of ideas".

"We need academic freedom and an ability to talk about these things, without fearing legal consequences," said Carol Rose.

The students said key details of the flaws would not have been made public.

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