Lock bumping

[unixronin]

You may or may not have already seen this news video on a relatively new lockpicking technique called lock bumping.  I just spent about half an hour reviewing various information on it, and it's pretty alarming.

Basically, lock bumping amounts to a class break for ALL mechanical cylinder locks.  It doesn't matter what brand or how many pins.  Five-pin, seven-pin, three-row firteen pin, they're all vulnerable.  All you need is a key blank for the lock type in question and some work with a file (or a couple of minutes on a key cutting machine for that key type), and any cylinder lock can be opened in seconds.

Some US reports assert that more expensive US-made locks (Medeco and Schlage Primus were mentioned by name) are immune to lock bumping.  Lock experts in Germany and the Netherlands say no, it doesn't matter; no mechanical cylinder lock offers any more protection than any other.  In some ways, the more expensive locks are easier to open, because they're machined to tighter tolerances and are smoother internally.

The unpleasant but simple truth seems to be that any mechanical cylinder lock — be it KwikSet, Yale, Schlage, Wiseco, Medeco, or whoever — is now only a psychological barrier, offering no real security whatsoever.

Now that the technique is well known, it's probably possible to design a mechanical lock that cannot be opened by bumping.  How long it will be before they appear on the market is anyone's guess; and how will you know a lock that really is immune to bumping from one that simply claims to be immune but is mechanically unchanged inside?

It may be time to move to electronic locks, or perhaps to electronically coded keys such as those that are becoming increasingly common in cars.  General Motors introduced them first, to my knowledge; it was a simplistic scheme — the keys had an embedded resistor, and if the onboard computer didn't see the correct resistance when the key was turned, it refused to start the car, and (if memory serves) wouldn't allow another attempt for 20 minutes.  Modern coded keys use a digital code and may have many thousands of combinations.  Mercedes-Benz uses infra-red "smart keys" that have no mechanical locking component to the ignition lock at all.

(Note:  I didn't intend to imply this was something brand new.  I said, "relatively new."  It's been known for about a year now, as ilcylic points out.  This was just the first time I'd looked into it in this detail and considered the implications for the real security of what we now consider to be "safe and secure" locks.)

Comments

[nephthys510.livejournal.com]

I really need to bite the financial bullet and just charge a security system installation.

I've been talking about it since I moved in. The place is already wired for it...

[lisa-marli.livejournal.com]

I drive a Prius which has a transponder chip inside. It has 1000s of codes but can technically be broken. But one needs a reader close by with all the correct stuff, Or be willing to send out 1000s of codes until one works, ie it ain't easy.
What I like is you step up to the car and the interior light comes on. You touch a certain spot and the doors unlock. Push the start button with your foot on the brake and the car starts. All while the key fob sits in your purse or pocket.
I also like - Leave the keys in the car and the door doesn't lock. Yeah, I've done that WAY too often. That would obviously not be in effect for a front door of a house.
Still the basic idea would be nice for the house. Go to the front door and certain lights come on. Touch a plate and the door unlocks and you can then just open the door. Once inside the house, touch the plate and door is locked again.
Yes there would need to be some sort of emergency over ride, so that if you don't have the key with you when you are trying to leave the house you can still get out. But may be have it trigger an alarm or something. So that if someone broke in via another way (like a window) if they use the front door to leave, the alarm goes off. Think about it, if you are leaving in an emergency having the alarm go off isn't a bad thing either.
Several in the Prius Group have been dreaming...
And there are the new Digital Front Door Locks I've seen floating around. They are nice, lots of codes, you can change them easily. More than one code can be set (give a throw away code to a tradesman working at the house, etc). They are nice and don't require a key.
But I do believe the future is some sort of Proximity device.

[jilara.livejournal.com]

For either one, house or car, there's a law of unintended consquences. With either one, you can still steal the contents by breaking the window, if you figure the response time to the alarm is long enough. Electronic keys are turning out to have an unexpected downside with car theft, though. In some places, the car thieves simply wait for the owner, mug him/her, and take the key.

[brownkitty.livejournal.com]

I'm really glad to have our backup security system now. He's a male labrador who really loves his family.

[ilcylic.livejournal.com]

Hunh, you just saw that?

That technique has been out for at least a year.

[cymrullewes.livejournal.com]

He's not as security oriented as you are so he doesn't go seek it out. BTW, want to come visit in April and go see VNV Nation?

[ilcylic.livejournal.com]

Didn't mean it to sound as "nyeah" as it did. I was just surprised. I was sure that some cross section our our mutual friend's list had mentioned this before. Apparently not. :)

I can't come visit in April. I'm in school.

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

Guess I'm not reading the right people :)

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

I knew it wasn't new. But this is the first I've seen anything much beyond a casual mention.

[ithildae.livejournal.com]

For some locks it is harder to get key blanks. I did some work with a locksmith, so this is not really a revelation. Now that the technique has hit the internet big time, I suppose something new is in order. Our electric combination was just changed from 2-7-1-8-2-8, we learn the right numbers around here.

[jilara.livejournal.com]

Having had a friend who was a locksmith, I don't find this terribly surprising.

[databeast.livejournal.com]

I love my bumpkey set, heheh

[midiamin.livejournal.com]

http://www.medeco.com/about/whats_new/pr/bump.html is hit #4 for "medeco bump key" on Google.

I would be interested to know how one could in a small number of tries bump a lock that requires the pins to rotate to specific positions before the sidebar allows the cylinder to rotate.

Their rotating pin locks have been on the market for quite some time.

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm sure Medeco locks are more resistant to bumping.  Whether they're immune, though, is another matter.  They're probably a very good solution in the meantime, but there's no guarantee someone won't come up with a technique tomorrow to extend bumping to work with Medeco locks, or figure out a technique that can be combined with bumping to open a Medeco lock.

[tague.livejournal.com]

many of the electronic vehicular keys suffer from the classic failures of poorly implemented cryptography, and suffer from an additional problems: the insurance industry buys into the whole unbreakable/theftproof mythology, so that when someone's car is stolen the company refuses the claim because since the car can't be stolen, the owner must be involved.

besides, who's going to bother to bump your front door when they can just slip around back and break a winder.

[robbat2.livejournal.com]

You don't even need an actual blank, since you are cutting the bumpkey to an all 9s configuration, you can just BUY an actual lock+key and file that down, and avoid having to find a blank at all.

Is there a cost overhead? Sure, but it takes away the scarcity issues for supplies of special blanks for fancy locks.

There is a single key that I've seen that would make this difficult (not impossible, but merely difficult). The flat faces of the key were used in addition to the top and bottom edges. Overlay a 2 by 5 grid on each side (so a total of 20 locations), and have divots with 4 different depth settings (none, 1/2, 2/3, 3/3) at each of those positions. Cutting this key to all 9's would be a pain, but is still doable.

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

You don't even need an actual blank, since you are cutting the bumpkey to an all 9s configuration, you can just BUY an actual lock+key and file that down, and avoid having to find a blank at all.

Indeed. One of the comments made was that a good start was to just go buy a half dozen locksets and a triangular file.

Lock Bumping Site

[beachdude101.livejournal.com]

Public service site about lock bumping and how to protect yourself against it!

http://www.lockbumping.org