Audit of the Charlie Ticketing SystemFor the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority

Team China AuditingLuke, Dylan, Scott, and Craig.

The Incident• Three MIT students explored the obvious weaknesses at the

MBTA.• The MBTA’s fare-collection system named the Charlie Card

was “hacked” to show false values.• The entire MBTA facility was shown to be lacking security in

general.

What Happened?• The students got into the building through unlocked doors.• Many locks were unlocked on rooms, phone boxes, and

networking systems. • They also found a key and other physical identification that

should not have been laying around.• They also eventually hacked the Charlie card’s mag-stripe

value and then explored the RFID cards.• They documented their entire experience with photos and

assembled a slideshow. Link Here

Recommendations

• Risk Assessment (Internal & Third-party)• Improve Physical Security– Access Control Hardware & Software– Visitor Management System

Risk Assessment

• Regularly scheduled (Internal & Third-party)• Management, Security and end-user involvement• Reports to identify risk areas and levels• CounterMeasures® – Risk Analysis Software $14,500

(CounterMeasures®, n.d.)• RFP’s to be reviewed for vendor selection

Physical Security

• Access Control Hardware & Software– Increase security by eliminating keys– Provide management, audit tracking and incident response– Typical installations $1500 - $2500 per door (Access

control, n.d.)– RFP’s to be reviewed for vendor selection

Physical Security

• Visitor Management System – Lobby Track™– Increased control and security of visitors in MBTA

facilities– Security desk, on-line or self-registration kiosk

check-in available• $1800 per location (Edition Comparison, n.d.)

Questions?

Thank You

Luke, Dylan, Scott, and Craig.Team China Auditing

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