Dutch Radboud University Demands The Right To Publish Research On Hacking Security Codes Of Luxury Cars

Scientific researchers Baris Ege and Roel Verdult are two researchers at the Radboud University in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. Together with FlavioD. Garcia, a colleague at the University of Birmingham, they conducted research on how secret codes of luxury cars can be hacked.

In their article “Dismantling Megamos Crypto”, they describe in detail how the security method Megamos Crypto can be hacked. Megamos Crypto is used in luxury brands such as Volkswagen, Bugatti and Bentley.

The research was slated to be published and presented in August 2013 at the USENIX security symposium in Washington. The Volkswagen Group requested that the researchers would publish their article without describing the exact code. The three scientists refused “out of principle” claiming that the general public has a right to know about security holes and flaws in car security systems.

The Volkswagen Group went to court, arguing that publication of the article would “facilitate” gangs specializing in luxury car theft. The judge agreed and issued an injunction, stating that the article could lead to theft of millions of cars such as Porsches, Audis, and Lamborghinis.

The Radboud University expressed its disappointment since “the injunction does not comply with freedom of academic publishing”. The university also pointed out that to steal a car, cracking the security code is not enough. “Our researchers found out how the immobilizer can be turned off. However, the thief must also get into the car to disengage the car alarm.”

The universities will fight for their right to publish in court at a later date.

Pippa Middleton Takes Legal Action Against @PippaTips The Streisand Effect

Mat Morrisroe and Suzanne Azzopardi started tweeting as @PippaTips. Their hilarious tweets spoofed Pippa’s predictable party tips.

Some gems include;

@PippaTip: avoid awkward silences by talking

@PippaTip: when driving at night lights aren't only a legal requirement, but a fun way of seeing the road and other things

@PippaTip: if you're shopping on a budget, try purchasing things that cost less to buy

@PippaTip: breakfast is a yummy way to get rid of hunger after waking. Toast (re-cooked bread), cereal or eggs with bacon are always winners

@PippaTip: the weekend is a good opportunity to do things you don't have time to during the week

@PippaTip: headache tablets can be a great in helping deal with a headache

@PippaTip: form friendships by being nice to people you like

@PippaTip: a refreshing afternoon nap can be enjoyed by taking a nap in the afternoon

With more than 50,000 Twitter followers, the dynamic duo launched "When One is Expecting: APosh Person's Guide to Pregnancy and Parenting". It’s a parody of Pippa’s quiteunsuccessful book Celebrate.

Ms. Middleton was not amused and instructed her lawyers Harbottle &Lewis LLP to demand that the @PippaTips Twitter account must be deleted

Part of Pippa’s chagrin could be the fact that the spoof is outselling the original on Amazon. Celebrate ranks at #3,370, while the @PippaTips book ranks at #961.

Sales in bookshops are still better for Celebrate. Pippa did not do herself a favor with her public outcry. It generated a lot of publicity that only helps to boost sales for @PippaTips. It’s a classic example of the Streisand Effect.

Fatal Attraction – Economist Heleen Mees Arrested in New York For Stalking Former Lover

Dutch economist Heleen Mees has been arrested in New York for stalking, harassing and aggravated harassing Willem Buiter. Her court date is May 5^th. 

She was released after posting bail set at $5,000.--.

Furthermore, Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Robert Mandelbaum issued Mees an order of protection and demanded she stay away from Buiter and his family.

“Do not call them, do not go to their home, school, businesses, place of employment . . . no email, no text messages, instant messages, no phone calls, letters, fax or voice messages,” the judge said.

Ms. Mees apparently sent more than 1,000 emails over two years to Mr. Buiter, a chief economist at Citigroup. The two had an affair. Ms. Mees was crazy about Buiters. But once the romance went sour, Mees went into fatal attraction-mode, sending racy, to X-rated, to demented emails. Threatening emails were not only sent to Buiter himself, but also to his wife Anne and children. She even continued to contact him after receiving a cease-and-desist letter.

According to the filed court papers, emails included:

“What can I do to make it right? Shall I lick your b---s?”

“Shall we adopt a child?”

“Hope your plane falls out of the sky.”

In addition to sending him X-rated images of herself, she sent him a photo of dead birds. Go figure.

Heleen Mees currently lives in NYC and was previously lecturing at the Dutch Universities Universityof Tilburg and the Eramus University Rotterdam (EUR). She also served as the Adjunct Associate Professor in Economics at Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. 

Ironically, she is known for her feminism, being a co-founder of “Women on Top”. She also wrote for the prestigious Dutch financial newspaper FD.