EFF press release on the gag order being lifted.

David G. Koontz david_koontz at xtra.co.nz
Tue Aug 19 17:37:17 EDT 2008


Perry E. Metzger wrote:
> http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2008/08/19
> 

You wonder if it was MTBA exhibit 4 that tipped their case against the
MTBA's injunction, using Roblimo's article on Sklyarov, quoting reactions to
Dmitry Sklyarov's arrest for a DMCA violation on July 16, 2001, wherein:

  Jennifer Granick, the clinical director of Stanford University's Center
  for Internet and Society, has also criticized the move by the software
  industry and the FBI.

  "American corporations have never been shy about using taxpayer money to
  enforce their rights," she said.

Using a news article containing a quote from the defense's representation
counter to your position doesn't sound like a winning strategy.  Ms. Granick
is the Civil Liberties Director with the EFF and has filed a declaration in
the case.

The Wikipedia article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dmitry_Sklyarov has a
succinct summary of the Sklyarov case, where charges against him were
dropped in exchange for testimony (against his employer).  In December 2002,
Elcomsoft (the employer) was found not guilty of violating the DMCA in a
jury trial.

Most notably:

  On July 19, 2001, the Association of American Publishers issued a press
  release announcing their support of his arrest. Adobe initially supported
  the arrest, but after a meeting with the Electronic Frontier Foundation,
  they issued a joint press release on July 23, 2001, recommending his
  release. However, Adobe still supports the case against ElcomSoft.

The MTBA had no organization or employer to fall back on in prosecution, and
are still alleging CFAA violations against the defendants, undoubtedly
stemming from the initial conference description of their presentation,
mentioning free fares, and the slide presentation showing MTBA operations
centers, possibly counterfeit transit authority identification, and
surreptitious access to computing facilities.  The problem being either one
of a bit too much security theater on the part of the defendants, or
possible violations of the CFAA.

It is notable that there is no criminal case to date.  One could also wonder
if the MTBA is taking corrective actions to protect their system both
through physical plant security and proper inclusion of cryptographic
protection of their ticketing system, as well.










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