Three students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) were ordered by a federal court judge to cancel their scheduled presentation at DEFCON about vulnerabilities in Boston's transit fare payment system, violating their First Amendment right to discuss their important research.

The Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority (MBTA) sued the students and MIT in United States District Court in Massachusetts, claiming that the students violated the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) by delivering information to conference attendees that could be used to defraud the MBTA of transit fares. EFF represented the students in this matter and effectively settled the case.