Dutch Court Allows Research On Smart Card Vulnerabilities To Be Published

from the good-job dept

We recently wrote about how NXP Semiconductor (formerly Philips Semiconductor) was suing to try to stop the publication of some research that showed some vulnerabilities in its chips used in smart cards around the world. The vulnerability itself was already widely known (though NXP denied it for a while). The good news is that a judge has denied the request, and the research will be published as originally planned. The bad news is that NXP wasted quite a lot of time denying there was a problem instead of fixing the problem -- and with this latest misguided legal stunt, made sure a lot more people knew about it.

1 Comments | Leave a Comment..

Legal Issues

by Mike Masnick

Thu, Jul 10th 2008 8:24am

Dutch Chipmaker Sues To Prevent Researchers From Publishing Info About Security Flaws

from the security-by-obscurity? dept

NXP Semiconductors, which was formerly Philips Semiconductor division, is suing some researchers to prevent the publication of a paper outlining the security flaws in smartcards made by NXP. These smartcards are widely used for transit systems and building locks. Of course, the fact that these cards have been insecure has actually been known for quite some time. Rather than fixing the problem, though, NXP spent plenty of effort denying any problem existed. Now that multiple researchers have demonstrated that the problem really does exist, NXP is claiming it hasn't had enough time to fix the problem, and thus is suing to prevent publication.

Of course, if NXP hadn't wasted so much time insisting there was no problem, perhaps it would have been closer to a fix. And, most importantly, those who are looking to use this vulnerability already have access to it. Publication in a journal isn't going to alert criminals -- they already know about it. What it could do, however, is get more researchers helping on a solution. But, apparently, NXP would rather pretend that if they keep the details hidden, they can pretend there is no problem.

8 Comments | Leave a Comment..

Search Techdirt

And now, a word from our Sponsors..

15% off discount for Techdirt Readers

Popular Posts

Poll

Add Techdirt RSS To Your Reader

Subscribe to Techdirt's Daily Email Newsletter

Older Stuff

Monday
3:49pm:	Heads Of Major Movies Studios Claiming They Just Want To Help Poor Indie Films Harmed By Piracy (47)
2:38pm:	USPTO Convinced By Amazon That Online Gift Giving Patent Is Legit (19)
1:31pm:	Tiburon Approves Recording Every Car That Enters/Leaves... Despite More Evidence Of Traffic Camera Abuse In UK (80)
12:18pm:	Label Exec Arrested For Not Using Twitter To Disperse Crowd At Mall To See Singer (53)
11:01am:	Spanish Court Dismisses Complaint From Nintendo Against Counterfiet DS Cartridges, Since They Add Functionality (12)
9:55am:	Dear PR People: If Your Exec Has A Comment, Our Comments Are Open (25)
8:44am:	What Kind Of Mickey Mouse (And Donald Duck) Lawsuits Are These? (23)
7:30am:	Prosecutors Ending Lawsuit Against Lori Drew (13)
6:06am:	Dear Rupert: You Don't Succeed By Making Life More Difficult For Users (70)
4:20am:	ESPN Writer Suspended From Twitter (59)
2:10am:	School Can't Handle Critical Community Message Board; Sends Legal Nastygram (21)
Friday
7:39pm:	Liberian Laws Are A Secret Due To Copyright; Even The Gov't Doesn't Have Them (43)
6:56pm:	Lily Allen: It's Ok To Sell My Counterfeit CDs, Just Don't Give My Music For Free (97)
6:10pm:	EFF Looks To Bust Bogus Podcasting Patent; Needs Prior Art (34)
5:28pm:	Google Blocking Set Top Boxes From Showing YouTube Unless They Pay Up? (64)
4:44pm:	Entertainment Industry: Yes, Please Keep Negotiating Secret Copyright Treaty To Save Our Asses (43)
4:02pm:	If Google's Book Scanning Violates Copyright Law, What About The AP's Book Scanning? (21)
3:05pm:	iPhone App Developer Backlash Growing (49)
2:14pm:	Norwegian Band Told It Can't Post Its Own Music To The Pirate Bay, Even Though It Wants To (24)
1:08pm:	If You Only Share A Tiny Bit Of A File Via BitTorrent, Is It Still Copyright Infringement? (79)
12:00pm:	UK Digital Economy Bill As Bad As Expected; Digital Britain Minister Flat Out Lies About ISP Support (25)
10:57am:	NPR's Daniel Schorr Blames The Internet For Ft. Hood Shootings (37)
9:49am:	No, ACTA Secrecy Is Not 'Normal' -- Nor Is It A 'Distraction' (29)
8:33am:	Murdoch's The Times Accused Of Blatant Copying, Just As It Tells The World You Should Pay For News (28)
7:15am:	Copyright Extension Moves To Japan (24)
5:46am:	Canadian Ebook Store Offers 'Free' Public Domain Ebooks -- Claims Copyright Says You Can Only Make 1 Copy (27)
4:01am:	There Are Lots Of Ways To Fund Journalism (14)
1:49am:	Winner Takes All, Long Tails And The Fractilization Of Culture (10)
Thursday
10:37pm:	The Lobbyists' Ability To Control The Message (29)
8:11pm:	In Going Free, London Evening Standard Doubles Circulation While Slashing Costs (27)

Quick Links

Current Insight Community Cases

Dutch Court Allows Research On Smart Card Vulnerabilities To Be Published

from the good-job dept

Dutch Chipmaker Sues To Prevent Researchers From Publishing Info About Security Flaws

from the security-by-obscurity? dept

Which Internet Concern Worries You The Most?

Techdirt's Daily Email Newsletter

Monday

Friday

Thursday

More