For the love of lock picking
In the popular Lockpicking Village area at Last HOPE (Hackers on Planet), I watched guys twirl little pins in all types of locking devices. For some, it took less than a minute to get the locks to snap open. One lock picker even showed how to open an ordinary padlock with just a piece of aluminum from a beer can. (See video demo below.)
Credit: Elinor Mills/CNET News
(Credit:
Elinor Mills/CNET News)
“The goal is to help people understand how we did it,” said Tobias, who has a physical security consultancy called Security.org. “As a lawyer, I believe in full disclosure and I believe manufacturers ought to disclose the vulnerabilities in their products.”
Marc Weber Tobias, co-author of Open in Thirty Seconds gets freed from a pair of prison transport handcuffs without a key.
Below in this video, “Deviant” shows how to pick an ordinary combination padlock by shimmying the shackle open with a small, folded piece of aluminum or metal.
(Credit:
Elinor Mills/CNET News)
Medeco, the lock that secures the doors in those two places and at high-security agencies around the world, had been un-crackable for 40 years–until last year. And now there’s a book about the lock’s shortcomings called Open in Thirty Seconds.
The book doesn’t reveal the codes needed to open the locks, he noted.
Not only is my personal information at risk every time I log onto the Internet and use a cell phone headset or passport, but even my gym locker, bike, and home can easily be accessed with the proper tools and manual dexterity.
NEW YORK–I feel much less secure after attending the Last HOPE conference this weekend.
Credit: Elinor Mills/CNET News
“This is all about liability and responsible disclosure,” said Marc Weber Tobias, a co-author on the book. “People need to know they are vulnerable, and the manufacturer says it can’t be done.”
Like with software vulnerabilities, manufacturers don’t want to acknowledge security flaws, he said. But the difference between software and old-fashioned hardware is that software can be easily upgraded over the Internet while locks must be replaced.
If I’m worried, how do they feel at the Pentagon and the White House?
Tools of the lock picking trade.
Below is a video that demonstrates just how easy it is to pick a deadbolt lock. “Steve,” a member of the Toool Open Organisation of Lockpickers, uses a small tension wrench to hold the pins in place while he jiggles a lock pick tool to set the pins to “open.”
