Scientists Banned to Unleash Exclusive Codes
A company of computer scientists has been barred from uncovering a paper that could be used to start just about any car from the VW Group, featuring Bentleys, Porsches and Audis.
Flavio D. Garcia, a lecturer in computer science at the university of Birmingham, and a few Dutch scientists wanted to unleash their paper under the title “Dismantling Megamos Crypto: Wirelessly Lockpicking a Vehicle Immobiliser.” Megamos Crypto is the name of the algorithm that provides the secret codes to start VW group’s cars, and a judge has ruled that uncovering those codes could lead to a boom of car thefts.
VW asked the scientists to unveil a revised variant of the paper that did not include the specific codes, but the scientists rejected. The group announces that they are ”responsible, legitimate academics doing responsible, legitimate academic work,” aiming to provide more information to customers about the security systems on their cars.
Currently, an interim injunction has been imposed on the group, and will be followed by a full case from VW versus the scientists that tells this information can ”allow somebody, especially a experienced criminal gang with the right tools, to break the security and thieve a vehicle”.
