Scientists need to learn when to shut the hell up

Researchers at Cambridge University have announced today that they've succeeded in building a device that will fool chip and pin card readers into thinking the correct pin has been entered, when it hasn't. Apparently they are concerned that criminals will get hold of this technology and use it for criminal purposes.

Well of course they will, now.

There are probably truckloads of Moldovan Mafia on route to Cambridge as we speak to shake down some researchers and steal the device, reverse engineer it and roll it out across the country. Did it not occur to the boffins that initially by inventing the thing, then by announcing it, they were creating a self-fulfilling prophecy? I'm sure their intentions were good but if it takes a team of Cambridge Research Grads to invent it, the chances of it being knocked up by any but the best funded and most forward thinking criminal organisations were slim at best.

So do you think that if and when scientists come up with something that could be of benefit primarily to criminals they should keep quiet about it? Should they work on shit like that at all in the first place? If you're a scientist yourself and came up with a handy device that'd be dead useful for robbing bank vaults but had no wider application, would you go public?

Jam it back in, in the dark.

It could be that they figured this thing out a while ago, haven't had any luck dealing with the people that make these systems, and decided the best way to get change to happen is with a press release. Similar things happen in the software security world where a huge flaw will be found, the manufacturer of the software will be notified and not release a patch or anything forever, so they then make it public so the company needs to fix it to prevent bad PR.

And, really, what's to stop the mafia from going out and hiring dudes similar to these in the first place to make their own version of the cracker?

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Moldovans formed a mafia? What can they smuggle besides mud?

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

The same things could be said about the people who invented the gun, the bomb, etc.

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Originally Posted by Bradylama

Moldovans formed a mafia? What can they smuggle besides mud?

London is dominated by various Eastern European gangs these days. Turks and Albanians mainly but pretty much every country east of Austria is well represented. As for smuggling, it's mainly people...

I was speaking idiomatically.

i think they should stay with mainstream/line/whatever technology for recreational/financial purposes instead of socializing it.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Or Shin, this is an elaborate sting operation to capture the mafia culprits.

probably not

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They made this public so the banks have no choice but to bring out that checkbook and sign off some money for them to come up with solutions for the hack they invented.

Hustlin 101! lol.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by Bradylama

Moldovans formed a mafia? What can they smuggle besides mud?

You're thinking of Elbonia.

How ya doing, buddy?