Chucked Your Locks Lately?

Via Objectivism Online this morning, I learned of the below movie about a lock-defeating technique I'd never heard of before. It's pretty scary for a moment, until you start thinking more deeply about home security.

The video comes from a group of Dutchmen who pick locks for a hobby and, like some groups of computer hackers, look for and publicize security weaknesses. In this case, they are blowing the whistle on locks which can be opened by any idiot with a specially-made key and a hammer.

The basic principle is that this special key -- called a "999 key" because each point at which it interacts with the pins within the lock is filed down as far as possible (position 9 on the machine) -- can, with a blow from a hammer, cause all the pins to move aside briefly, allowing aforementioned idiot to rotate the key and open the lock. The lock-picking enthusiasts, who approach locks as if they are puzzles, see this as "cheating", needless to say.

The problem is that something like 90% of all key-operated locks currently on the market are vulnerable to this hack, making reliance on locks for home security seem about as good as just leaving the doors wide open. Since most people give far too little thought to home security -- about as much as it takes to turn a key -- this is very disconcerting at first. More than one person I've read has understandably commented that this makes locks "obsolete".

Most blogs on the subject I've looked at call the technique "new", but I recall having seen somewhere that it has been around for awhile -- that the publicity is really all that's new. In any event, since there are already countermeasures available to this hack in some locks, it is clear to me that manufacturers have known about the vulnerability that causes "bumping" to be possible for quite some time. As far as I have been able to tell, however, such locks are available only from a couple of European manufacturers. Translation: If all this publicity causes a run on the market, the vast majority of those who want a "bump-proof" lock will be out of luck for the foreseeable future.

What to do? Well, in my neighborhood, some criminals, in a rash of kick-in burglaries, apparently didn't even have the patience for bumping. Why futz around with a lock when you can just take out the entire door? I'm not being cavalier about home security, but I am making a point. You can't rely on locks, or any one thing to protect yourself from crime. Like any other aspect of your life, there is no such thing as an "autopilot" option. Just like anything else, home security, to be truly effective, requires you to think.

The solution isn't to just pretend that home security is impossible, or to ball up into a fetal position until more effective locks become more widely available, if they ever do. (I suspect that most people will forget all about this after the first crime wave occurs, if it ever does. And so conceivably, the demand for these harder-to-manufacture locks may not develop at all!) The solution is to take a more active role in one's own security.

Towards that end, I recommend the approach of Marc "Animal" MacYoung, whose web site, "No Nonsense Self-Defense" is loaded with excellent advice about all aspects of crime prevention. The below comes from his tips on property crime, but I strongly recommend becoming familiar with the rest of his site (including his home security tips) for two reasons: (1) His approach is integrated and you will need to do this anyway to get the most out of any of his advice. (2) His thoughts on crime protection in general are pretty sound overall. (I disagree with some of his more theoretical points, but find that his practical advice is outstanding.)

The concept behind the old saying "Who is watching the watchers?" applies in spades to property crime.

"What is protecting the protection?"

Until this critical issue is addressed, then the statement that "locks only keep honest people" applies. That is because an honest person will look at a lock and see a barrier, a criminal will look and see something that he has to get around.

And unfortunately, most of what is around the locks/protections can be easily gotten through with ease. Which totally undermines the effectiveness of the lock.

Despite the fact that thieves may not use violence on people, that doesn't mean they are not deeply involved in the criminal mindset and therefore willing to use whatever force is necessary. And that means they don't care how much damage they cause getting what they want. It makes perfect sense to them to bypass a lock by kicking the door in. Thereby causing the frame to collapse or to smash a car window to get to something.

The havoc they will wreck will cost you hundreds of dollars to repair on top of whatever else they will have taken. Unfortunately, often the amount of money the burglar will get for the object he stole, is only fractional to the costs of repair for the damage he caused getting to the item.

It is critical that you have an understanding of how thieves operate and why an "onion" approach is necessary. Layers of protection, rather than just one level. Otherwise the burglar is going to quickly and easily bypass your security measures, or just blast through them.

So what if some twelve-year-old can pick your lock? If that's all you have protecting your valuables, you're asking for it.

-- CAV

Note: I thank Adrian Hester for first bringing the MacYoung site to my attention quite some time ago.