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The Study of Physical Hacks at DefCon 299

Posted by Zonk from the old-ways-are-the-best-ways dept.
eldavojohn writes "DefCon usually focuses on electronic security, but Saturday a talk was held that focused on possibly the oldest form of hacking — lockpicking. As software security becomes better and better, the focus may be shifting towards simple hacking tips like looking over someone's shoulder for their password, faking employment or just picking the locks to gain access to the building where machines are left on overnight. From the article: 'Medeco deadbolt locks relied on worldwide at embassies, banks and other tempting targets for thieves, spies or terrorists can be opened in seconds with a strip of metal and a thin screw driver, Marc Tobias of Security.org demonstrated for AFP ... Tobias says he refuses to publish details of 'defeating' the locks because they are used in places ranging from homes, banks and jewelers to the White House and the Pentagon. He asked AFP not to disclose how it is done.' I'm sure all Slashdot readers are savvy enough to use firewall(s) but do you know and trust what locks 'physically' protect your data from hacks like these?"
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The Study of Physical Hacks at DefCon More

The Study of Physical Hacks at DefCon

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  • Backstop that lock... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by swb ( 14022 ) on Sunday August 05, 2007 @12:58PM (#20123235)
    ...with a Smith & Wesson (or a Glock, or a Bushmaster, or a Remington).

    • Re:Backstop that lock... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by couchslug ( 175151 ) on Sunday August 05, 2007 @01:07PM (#20123317)
      Funny, but you do have a valid point. Locks keep honest people honest.

      It isn't difficult to slice through or drill most locks or the doors holding them, let alone picking the lock, but if there is an armed human on the other side that changes the game a bit. :)

      • Re:Backstop that lock... (Score:5, Informative)

        by swb ( 14022 ) on Sunday August 05, 2007 @01:16PM (#20123415)
        No, it was meant to be serious. Locks keep out honest people and lazy criminals (given how often the police issue updates reminding us to lock the doors because they've had a run of unforced entry burglaries, there must be a lot of them).

        Weapons keep out ANYBODY, but watch out for criminal-friendly laws on deadly force that either require you to flee your own home or prove that you were threatened with imminent risk of death or great bodily harm.

        Fortunately where I live, deadly force is justified within your own home top stop the commission of a felony, and burglary is a felony.

        • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

          by LordSnooty ( 853791 )

          Weapons keep out ANYBODY, but watch out for criminal-friendly laws on deadly force that either require you to flee your own home or prove that you were threatened with imminent risk of death or great bodily harm.
          Which is right and proper since in most Western countries the state doesn't demand the death penalty for burglary.

          • Re:Backstop that lock... (Score:5, Insightful)

            by couchslug ( 175151 ) on Sunday August 05, 2007 @03:25PM (#20124391)
            "Which is right and proper since in most Western countries the state doesn't demand the death penalty for burglary."

            You mistake shooting a "burglar" for penalizing said burglar instead of SELF-defense. Defending yourself is not to be confused with lynching.
            A "burglar" (intruder) is a huge risk to the occupant of a house because the intruder has incentive to kill the householder to shut him/her up, and sometimes does.
            Crimes of opportunity in a home invasion include rape, torture, arson to cover up the evidence etc.
            Intruders are not typically like Roger Moore in "The Saint".

            If you don't want to defend yourself, it is your right not to. To say that I cannot defend myself is to say that I don't matter, and those who would violate me do. I respectfully disagree.
            Even in Iraq, the US allows householders one firearm. This is because police response is reactive, not preemptive. All the cops can usually do is collect evidence and maybe arrest the perp for whatever he/she did. This neither does not reverse or prevent damage to the victim.

            When I was TDY to Saudi Arabia, some crackheads decided to party on my property. My wife asked them to leave. They told her to fsck off and made threatening statements. (We lived in an area with light police protection and long response times.) She retreated to the house, got our our Mini-14, and put several warning shots into the ground (not towards the crackheads) where the bullets could be retrieved if required. They promptly left and never returned for the remaining three years we lived there. When the police finally responded, the officer was fine with it. (I love the South!

            The right to violent self-defense is essential to freedom, because if you are forbidden to defend yourself anyone can do their will to you.

            • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

              by Anonymous Coward
              Self-defense should be proportional to the actual threat.

              Shooting any burglar because some burglars might become violent is just stupid. If the burglar is coming at you, fine. If he's trying to leave or running away, no.

            • Re:Backstop that lock... (Score:4, Insightful)

              by dasunt ( 249686 ) on Monday August 06, 2007 @07:17AM (#20128815)

              Agreed.

              IMO, any rational burglar will attempt to flee once he or she discovers that the residence is occupied and the occupant is armed.

              Any burglar who does not flee once the occupant announces that he or she is armed loses the benefit of the doubt in my book. The burglar is clearly involved in an illegal act and is not making an attempt to flee when discovered. That is not a good sign, and the occupant is justified in assuming that his or her life is threatened, IMO.

          • You forfeit your personal safety when you break into my house. Criminals shouldn't be protected (contrary to the ACLU's opinion).
            • The ACLU does do some good, but this is one issue upon which I believe they are full of little red ants. Now, I think we can agree that criminals should be given the same rights to a fair trial as any other citizen. That's why we have a Justice System. On the other hand, if you break into my house when I'm around odds are you'll be in need of medical care by the time I'm finished with you. And if you threaten anyone important to me, I can pretty much assure you that you'll be in much greater need of an unde

        • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

          by ClamIAm ( 926466 )
          Weapons keep out ANYBODY

          So if I buy a gun and keep it in my house, a magical force field will keep all criminals out?

          This logic seems horrribly flawed. But then again, I'm not a rabid pro-gun idiot, so I'm obviously unenlightened and unworthy of commenting in this discussion.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Graff ( 532189 )
      In addition to having a weapon available I like to back it up with a well-trained dog. My Dalmatian might look cute but she's very nasty when it comes to intruders!

      There's a lot of people who would have no problems dealing with a person that would think twice if that person had an angry dog with them.

  • Protection (Score:5, Funny)

    by SaidinUnleashed ( 797936 ) on Sunday August 05, 2007 @01:01PM (#20123253)
    >>do you know and trust what locks 'physically' protect your data from hacks like these?"

    I know I weld my doors shut nightly. You should too!

  • "Hacking" (Score:5, Informative)

    by Arthur Grumbine ( 1086397 ) on Sunday August 05, 2007 @01:01PM (#20123259) Journal
    From TFS,

    "...simple hacking tips like looking over someone's shoulder for their password."

    How far the meaning of this word has come from it's original [wikipedia.org] usage.

    • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Language, how it doth change! How I mifs the language of yore, and fmite the technological neologifms brought.. ironically.. by the self-proclaimed "hackers" who then complain that the word they used to describe themselves has evolved in meaning.

    • Re:"Hacking" (Score:5, Funny)

      by multisync ( 218450 ) on Sunday August 05, 2007 @01:10PM (#20123345) Journal
      I'm reminded of Ralph Macchio asking Mr. Miyagi what kind of belt he had in the Karate Kid. Mr. Miyagi's answer:

      "Canvas. JC Penny. Three ninety-eight. You like?"
    • Nah, the original usage was descriptive of some guy destroying stuff with an axe.

  • Locks are pretty much useless (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 05, 2007 @01:03PM (#20123271)
    Because doors are riddled with 0-day exploits in the frames and hinges. With even a small vehicle, you can exploit a stack-overflow in the frame, popping the entire door out. DOS attacks against hinge pins can also be used to completely bypass a lock.
    • Yeah you can get an army of zombies [dubbdesign.com] to help you pick the lock, but you have to get the in close proximity to the lock and make sure they don't trip over each other.

      Besides, most zombies don't have the physical dexterity necessary for good lock-picking. In large groups they are good at tearing the door off its hinges or ramming through it though.

  • Wetware hacking (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Rosco P. Coltrane ( 209368 ) on Sunday August 05, 2007 @01:05PM (#20123291)
    the focus may be shifting towards simple hacking tips like looking over someone's shoulder for their password, faking employment or just picking the locks to gain access to the building where machines are left on overnight.

    It's not shifting at all. I've done my share of hacking when I was younger (ahem) and the weakest link was always the human link. It was much easier to con the secretary into giving a password than hacking the secretary's computer, and I suspect it's even more the case now with more solid computer systems. That's called social engineering and it will always work very well indeed, because much to my dismay, computer users get dumber and dumber as computer get more and more powerful.

    As for lockpicking, it's not really a secret that no lock is safe. Look up "bump key" in your favorite search engine and you'll see what I mean.
    • I think you need to check out medico locks if you think they are in the same line of locks that can be picked with a bump key.

      If these guys actually have a way of defeating a medico lock, they've done something special.

      • Medeco (Score:2, Informative)

        by ls671 ( 1122017 )

        I think you need to check out medico locks if you think they are in the same line of locks that can be picked with a bump key.

        I think it is medeco http://www.medeco.com/ [medeco.com] not "medico". Medico locks are for locking up your girlfriend so nobody can access her private parts.

        These locks are harder, but not impossible to bump for a very skilled locksmith. Nothing is 100% hack-proof, just harder to hack.

  • No, I don't (Score:2, Insightful)

    by The Man ( 684 )
    My own data is kept at home, where my windows are left open all day and the locks can be picked by amateur locksmiths in a few minutes. It's basically there for the taking, but as it happens there's really very little of value - I don't keep identifying information like social security numbers electronically, and I don't happen to own any intrinsically valuable data. The reason I protect my computers is to avoid seeing them used by others to launch attacks; between the legal concerns and a simple moral ob
  • Why do they put door locks on a convertible?
    • Because slicing open a closed convertible top takes more effort and is a more noticeable action than opening an unlocked door.

      Yes, tops can be sliced open. Regular car door locks can also be defeated in about 3 seconds using a slam stick.

      Nothing is going to stop someone from getting into your car if they want to. Requiring some level of effort will detour many folks who would snag something if they were just walking by otherwise.

      • On a side note, some of the most secure locks are found on German cars (specifically Porsche and Mercedes Benz, don't know about BMW, but I would assume so). I don't know a lockpick that will work on an AMG SL65. Hotwiring is, of course an option, but a damn hard one.
        -nB
        • You don't want a lock that's TOO secure, or AAA won't be able to get you in when you lock your keys inside. You'll have to wait for the manufacture to send you a duplicate key, and that's not gonna get you back on the road in less than an hour.

    • anecdotal (Score:5, Interesting)

      by zogger ( 617870 ) on Sunday August 05, 2007 @02:14PM (#20123923) Homepage Journal
      One summer I was forced to park right in the same neighborhood as crack houses, etc, because of where I had to work. As did my co workers. They all locked their doors and trunks, result, all of them got busted glass and popped trunks. I warned them too, I really did, I said "look at reality, these cars are targets now". Nope, none of them listened. I left my doors unlocked and the trunk slightly open, just eased down. The ride was so old and ratty I wasn't afraid of it getting stolen, albeit that was a chance. There was nothing left in the car to steal, a very cheap in dash radio not even worth a dollar at a pawn shop, but I made it easy for the crooks to ascertain that, because I knew they would look.

      Ya, it sucked doing that,the principle rankled me, but my practical nature took over, because it was better than having to replace a door window.

      Most modern stick frame construction houses are vulnerable to a razor knife. Just pick a section of wall and slice a hole. You got plastic siding, a thin tyvek sheet, some cheap ass pressboard stuff,(glorified cardboard really), some spun fiberglass insulation, then drywall. That's all you need, a couple minutes with a razor knife and any thief can get in easy, let alone if they use something like a cordless sawzall thing.

      • Re:anecdotal (Score:4, Interesting)

        by iminplaya ( 723125 ) on Sunday August 05, 2007 @02:51PM (#20124217) Journal
        Most modern stick frame construction houses are vulnerable to a razor knife.

        There were thieves in Chicago(and I'm sure elsewhere) that would steal whole garages, bricks and all. Turns out they could sell the bricks. And watch out for stolen manhole covers. That could really hurt. Well, you have the right idea. Don't go through those neighborhoods wearing your nice shoes.

      • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

        by smellsofbikes ( 890263 )
        My (now ex) girlfriend's glass/jewelry shop was broken into that way repeatedly: she had bars on the windows, a reinforced doorframe, a good lock, but the buildings on either side of her didn't and people broke into them and cut through the wall into her place. And cleaned out the other places, while they were at it... One time they just kicked through drywall, but the others they used a sawzall because there was an exterior wall on one side.

      • razor, no (Score:3, Informative)

        by Spy Handler ( 822350 )
        "Most modern stick frame construction houses are vulnerable to a razor knife. Just pick a section of wall and slice a hole. You got plastic siding, a thin tyvek sheet, some cheap ass pressboard stuff,(glorified cardboard really), some spun fiberglass insulation, then drywall. That's all you need, a couple minutes with a razor knife and any thief can get in easy, let alone if they use something like a cordless sawzall thing."

        The "pressboard stuff" you're referring to is called OSB (Oriented Strand Board).

  • How to pick Medeco locks (Score:3, Informative)

    by Iphtashu Fitz ( 263795 ) on Sunday August 05, 2007 @01:14PM (#20123373)
    Google is your friend. All of about 30 seconds of searching came up with this [fortliberty.org] article as well as others. Although I didn't watch them I also found a few videos posted on YouTube that claim to demonstrate how to do it.

    • Re:How to pick Medeco locks (Score:5, Informative)

      by mlts ( 1038732 ) * on Sunday August 05, 2007 @01:47PM (#20123719)
      From what the original poster's article said, this appears to be a valid method against the original Medeco and the Medeco Biaxial line [1], but I don't see how this would have any effect at all versus the latest Medeco3 mechanism (well, latest since 2003), which uses side bitting on the key as well as the usual Medeco rotating pins.

      Other than Medeco, there is one type of lock that would be excellent for security, Abloy's Protec line, which from what I read takes 10-12 hours to pick even for the pros at detainer disk type of locks. However, the Protec line isn't sold in the US. Older Abloy lines are decent, but it would take far less time for a pro to pick them open. There are other high security locks out there, and one can read from a lock site what the weaknesses are of each of them.

      Nothing is 100% secure. If some thief is determined enough to bypass something, they can.

      Lastly, high security locks just one tool, in a toolbox of security options. If its worth locking with a high security cylinder, its worth having a centrally monitored alarm system (with a duress code [2] option.)

      [1]: Biaxial isn't that much more secure than the original Medeco, but it allows for (IIRC) 10 times as many key combinations, allowing for more flexible keying options.

      [2]: Yes, home invasions are on the rise, so make sure an alarm system has a duress feature (where it disarms, but silently calls the central station)... and USE the alarm. If at home, use the alarm's "at home" feature which monitors the doors and windows, but doesn't arm the IR detectors. A high security lock is no good when it is opened by the owner at gunpoint.

      • Re:How to pick Medeco locks (Score:5, Interesting)

        by eggoeater ( 704775 ) on Sunday August 05, 2007 @02:07PM (#20123869) Journal

        From what the original poster's article said, this appears to be a valid method against the original Medeco and the Medeco Biaxial line...
        Sorry, but I'm not buying the article the GP pointed to...it's simply saying "modify a diamond shaped lock pick...etc etc". I don't see how ANY lock picking solution can get around correctly rotating the pins so the holes line up with the sidebar. Added to that, there are many things to help defeat the constant tension during a pick, mushroom pins being one.

        You seem to know a thing or two about Medeco locks (like the fact that there's a diff. between the original and Biaxial). If you know/see something about the article I don't, please let me know. My father worked for Medeco (and I briefly worked in their factory one summer) and I'm sure he'd love to know.

        Also, last I heard, there was still a reward offered by Medeco for picking a lock at their headquarters in Salem VA.

        • Re:How to pick Medeco locks (Score:5, Insightful)

          by mlts ( 1038732 ) * on Sunday August 05, 2007 @02:34PM (#20124069)
          The OP's article really didn't have much detail, but there are other sites that one can check out that have more details on attacks on Medeco locks.

          The Medeco reward I've heard about in a number of different forms, so I'm not sure the exact details. Last I heard, if someone can pick 3 Medeco cylinders (the six pin type found in deadbolts, not the four or five that are used as replacement for disk tumbler cylinder replacements.), they get a prize. However I have no clue what the real status of that is.

          Nothing is unpickable by someone who knows their stuff and has the manual dexterity. Its slowing people down, to where even a skilled lock manipulator will take hours to open the lock, which will most likely mean detection. Its also forcing someone to leave a signature (scratches), so if stuff does get taken, one can prove to an insurance company that a lock was defeated or something was broken.

          Mushroom pins help, but are just one security mechanism, forcing locksmiths to jam the pins up, then let them float downward to the shear line, rather than pushing pins up from their resting place. I'm pretty sure the sidebar is pickable by some tool that rotates the pins, as its talked about on various lockpicking sites.

          This is one reason I recommend high security locks. If someone kicks down a door or breaks a window, that leaves a noticable signature where a claim with insurance has more ground. If someone's house is robbed by a bumped lock, there is no trace, and it goes to a word against word thing to prove that stuff was there, and is now not.

          It may be the security has nothing to do with the tumbler mechanism. In some locks are weaknesses that have nothing to do with the cylinder used. For example, one lock I have has a very pick resistant cylinder, but one can use a shim and the lock pops right open.

          Lastly, some people may state security through obscurity, but I'm glad that the methods of opening Medeco deadbolts are not made public. Physical locks can't be updated like most programs can. Every cylinder in a building would need replacing, and that would amount to hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars, factoring in parts, labor, the time it takes to deploy a new keying system, getting the new keys to all the employees, etc.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by Suicyco ( 88284 )
            Yeah because its the PUBLIC you have to worry about, not the underground who actually know how to use these techniques? Security through obscurity never works, not ever. The general public is not going to attempt to break these, because it is highly difficult. Somebody who CAN do it, probably already knows how or can easily learn how. Somebody who can do it, is usually going to be the person who will do it (you have to be able to do something, in order to DO it), hence you are no safer with moderate "secrec
      • Tobias (who either *is* security.org or works for them) is the author of Locks, Safes, and Security: An International Police Reference. On their webpage they announce a detailed look at the Medeco M3. [security.org] From the description, it sounds like they have a way to bypass it, but no idea if it's true or not when they won't release details. I think these are the same guys that also manufacture the tools specific to bypassing Abloys.

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by plover ( 150551 ) *
        This attack sounds like one I heard about 10 years ago. Some kid showed up at a locksmith convention selling Medeco opening kits for cheap. A former buddy bought one.

        Basically, the trick is you don't pick the lock at all. You pass the metal strip THROUGH the body of the lock and out the back, and use it to retract the bolt mechanism behind the cylinder. Damned clever attack.

  • If its anything like hacking.. (Score:3, Funny)

    by g0dsp33d ( 849253 ) on Sunday August 05, 2007 @01:41PM (#20123643)
    There's probably a door around back that is standing open.

  • How Medeco locks work (Score:5, Informative)

    by Beryllium Sphere(tm) ( 193358 ) on Sunday August 05, 2007 @01:44PM (#20123671) Journal
    The cuts in the key are individually angled so they rotate the tumblers as well as lifting them. Slots in the tumblers are lined up by the rotation to unlock a sidebar that fits into a longitudinal slot in the cylinder.

    Bump keys can't even get started opening that.

    More burglars have feet than have lockpicking skills. Step one in physical security is to combat kick-in attacks. Replace your strike plate, which I can almost guarantee is inadequate, with a reinforced model like the Mag-3 and most important, install it with #10 wood screws at least 3" long, so it can't tear out of the studs when subjected to a good kick. Predrill the holes and put soap on the threads so you don't break screws as you install it.

    A block watch is a great idea too. Neighbors are a security mechanism.

    An alarm system also protects you against fire, which depending on where you live can be a bigger threat than burglary.

    • A block watch is a great idea too. Neighbors are a security mechanism.

      Another good one I find is an Doberman that hasn't had dinner yet.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Acer500 ( 846698 )
        Disclaimer: true but probably exaggerated story.

        I live in Uruguay, and the most common burglary problem comes from young kids/teens from poor settlements ("cantegriles"/"villas miserias"/"favelas") that hop across roofs and walls of houses looking for an unprotected house to make a quick entrance and steal whatever valuables are at hand.

        While I was studying with a classmate of a well-to-do family in his house, we heard a noise and saw one such teen trying to enter (he hadn't noticed us). We called the

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by UncleTogie ( 1004853 ) *
        ...defeated, of course, by the nearest prowler with a drugged steak...

    • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

      by Tamugin ( 851088 )
      Predrill the holes and put soap on the threads so you don't break screws as you install it.

      Replace soap with beeswax in this case. The moisture in soap will affect the wood surrounding the screws and weaken it. Beeswax leaves the wood in good shape as well as helping you to drive 3" screws without shearing the heads off when you're almost finished.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by DrSkwid ( 118965 )
      What is this '3"' of which you speak?
  • Not for securing a fortress. Surveillance with active IDS is a better deterrent eg: armed guards patrol premises and monitor video stations vs. a medico lock.

  • It's the form factor, stupid. (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Animats ( 122034 ) on Sunday August 05, 2007 @02:30PM (#20124027) Homepage

    A big problem with mechanical locks is the form factor. Anything that has to fit in a standard US cylinder lock hole is inherently weak. It's just too small.

    There are some good locking systems out of Israel. Mul-T-Lock makes door locks that extend three or four deadbolts through the door and into the frame, like a vault door. These are made to work like ordinary door lever locks.

    The best residential doors are found in older HUD-financed housing projects in bad neighborhoods. Apartment doors are steel fire doors mounted in steel frames, and walls are reinforced concrete. Those things will resist a battering ram. The lock mechanisms usually aren't that great, but the threat there is generally brute force, not lockpicking.

    It's surprisingly hard to get good doors and locks in the US. There are better locks in parts of the Third World.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Rakishi ( 759894 )

      It's surprisingly hard to get good doors and locks in the US. There are better locks in parts of the Third World.

      Mostly because there is greater demand there.

      Of course in such places the criminals simply find ways to not have to open the lock. I'm sure in some of those places the door literally has to withstand a battering ram, car powered one that is, or it isn't of much use. In Poland criminals didn't even bother to pick locks to apartments half the time, they simply found some old lady carrying groceries to her apartment then offered to help carry them for her. Then as soon as she opened the door they punched her

    • There are better locks in parts of the Third World.

      There's probably a reason for that. Still, I'd like a decent steel door that looks like wood and a frame to put it in.

  • Crypto (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Yvanhoe ( 564877 ) on Sunday August 05, 2007 @03:13PM (#20124339) Journal
    That's what encryption is for. Even with physical access, your files are secure as long as the key lives inside your brain.
    Of course they can then be deleted, but someone who would have access to my computer could only "damage" my most precious data, not read it. A computer does not work like a safe, it can be much more efficient.
    • I'm currently managing a transition to using only encrypted file systems, using loop-aes. As the parent says, one reason to use encrypted file systems is protection against burglars. The access keys for the data disappear as soon as the power is disconnected, so the burglar gets the hardware but no data. Thieves have to be unusually smart if they want to copy the plaintext - they'll have to trick you into revealing the key to them somehow.

      But it doesn't just protect my data from burglars. It also enables me
      • I'm all for encryption, but it's not clear to me what an encrypted root file system would buy me. They wouldn't be able to tell what packages I had installed? I already mount root RO, so I'm sure there's nothing being written there in general operation, and I just don't see what appreciable security I'd gain by hiding the contents of that file system.

        That and it sure would be handy if I could log in remotely to a mostly-booted system (using a special-purpose account) and enter the passphrase. Without that t
  • ...nuff said.

  • Comment removed (Score:5, Funny)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Sunday August 05, 2007 @03:45PM (#20124571)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • Where I live we've had our share of "be wary of lockpicks" type campaigns. I've had my eyes on the "RFID Digital Door Lock"* from ThinkGeek for some time, and thought that maybe this would be the thing (except I rent my home, so it's not really my door to drill holes in). At least, it ought to be difficult to pick; it would be just as easy as ever to just bust in the entire door.

    Are there any slashdotters out there who have actually bought and tried this lock? Any good/bad reviews to be had?

    * http://www.thi [thinkgeek.com]

  • Keyboard JitterBug eavesdropping (Score:4, Informative)

    by stock ( 129999 ) * <stock@stokkie.net> on Sunday August 05, 2007 @03:53PM (#20124631) Homepage
    The Dell key-logger hoax has probably the best decoy story to move
    professional hackers/security staffers into the wrong direction, as in
    May 2006, USENIX published the following research article :

    "Keyboards and Covert Channels"
      by Gaurav Shah, Andres Molina and Matt Blaze , 2006-05-17
      Department of Computer and Information Science
      University of Pennsylvania
    http://www.usenix.org/events/sec06/tech/shah/shah_ html/jbug-Usenix06.html [usenix.org]

    In it the authors demonstrate that todays unwarranted wire tapping NSA
    activities, normally don't result in much success as serious internet
    users routinely apply encryption into their communications, like IPSec
    tunneling, ssh, VPN access connections, secure web-traffic https when
    i.e. doing Internet banking activities.

    However, secret service found a clever approach to all this, by
    covertly installing a Keyboard JitterBug into your keyboard. Here's
    how to secure your most trusted keyboard :

    Keyboard JitterBug eavesdropping
    http://crashrecovery.org/internet/#jitter [crashrecovery.org]

    where i may add, that lock picking _ALSO_ has been the best hoax ever
    on public display. Why? How many people today design their _OWN_
    locksmith locks? All installed door-locks worldwide are somehow sold in
    stores, hence its products and replacement keys are in the archives of
    the local secret service.

    Robert

  • Tobias says he refuses to publish details of 'defeating' the locks because they are used in places ranging from homes, banks and jewelers to the White House and the Pentagon. He asked AFP not to disclose how it is done.

    I remember reading about how most locks can be easily defeated using a technique called bumping [wikipedia.org]. This site [toool.nl] also has PDFs and videos describing how it's done. Also searching Google for "bumping" gives you a lot of information on the subject, so unless this is something radically new, I don't

    • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

      by icegreentea ( 974342 )
      you can't bump medeco's. the pins are all placed on angles (like 15 degrees or something). that's was the whole point of medeco's to start with, they're impossible to bump, and a headache to pick traditionally.

  • For details... (Score:4, Informative)

    by Stone Rhino ( 532581 ) <mparke@@@gmail...com> on Sunday August 05, 2007 @04:08PM (#20124713) Homepage Journal
    See tobias's post on engadget a couple weeks ago: http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/19/the-lockdown-th e-medeco-m3-meets-the-perilous-paper-clip/ [engadget.com]

    Medeco offers several levels of key control to insure that its patent protected blanks cannot be copied, replicated or simulated. In many systems, proprietary keyways are available to further ensure that keys cannot be improperly compromised. Although the m3 is a very secure lock, we were able to simulate Medeco keys that can be made to bypass the keyway and slider protection of almost any system -- all without infringing on any Medeco intellectual property. It turns out that a standard paper clip will depress the slider precisely to the correct position. A wire or paper clip, fashioned as shown, is inserted into the keyway and wedged at the end of the body of the slider.
    So, with a proper paperclip, you can eliminate the additional security and remove its advantages against certain types of attacks.

  • Digital locks are fun - Samsonite (Score:4, Interesting)

    by cheros ( 223479 ) on Sunday August 05, 2007 @05:06PM (#20125155)
    I remember buying a Samsonite briefcase with digital lock. Two weeks later I had a bunch of people try to open it over a weekend. Nobody managed to crack the 4 digit lock during the two days despite trying all available combinations and despite me opening it every time when I was handed it.

    Why?

    Because they DIDN'T try all available combinations. I discovered that the Samsonite digital lock with 4 positions from 0..9 can have a total of 11110 combinations instead of 10000 because you do not need to use all positions (which is not even in the little manual). In other words, the number of possible combinations is 10000 + 1000 + 100 + 10. The combination in use was "9" with me pretending to press the remaining 3 digits so there was a little bit of misdirection involved :-)

    Having said that, that specific lock has a more fundamental flaw that allows it to be easily reset, and this type of briefcase is not popular with airport security so I eventually stopped using it.

  • Cracking, not hacking (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Trixter ( 9555 ) on Sunday August 05, 2007 @08:32PM (#20126371) Homepage
    Lockpicking is the oldest form of cracking, not hacking. Hacking is best summed up as "unconventional and creative use of technology". It is not a synonym for breaking and entering.

    This used to be news for nerds -- please get it right.

  • Medeco deadbolt locks - that's easy! (Score:3, Funny)

    by Muad'Dave ( 255648 ) on Monday August 06, 2007 @09:01AM (#20129529) Homepage
    "Medeco deadbolt locks ... can be opened in seconds with a strip of metal and a thin screw driver..."

    The thin strip of metal is called a "key" - you insert it into the "lock", and turn it. I'm not sure of the screwdriver's purpose. Perhaps you use it to scratch your head, wondering why you brought it along.

  • Is there an off topic mod? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by pnice ( 753704 ) on Monday August 06, 2007 @11:23AM (#20131189)
    I came in here to read about locks and lock security and lockpicking. Instead it has turned into almost complete gun control debate. Letting people stray so far off topic should be discouraged so we can read posts that relate more to the subject at hand. /if there is an off topic mod I guess this should be given the same rank as well.

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