Bumping Heads
The recent attention in the local and national media about lock ‘bumping’ (a quick, low skill lock opening technique) has caused the ALOA (Associated Locksmiths of America) to release a statement condemning the release of such information by “attention seeking individuals”. They also state that by publicizing the situation a serious security problem is being created: ALOA Statement
In turn, Marc Weber Tobias, a noted lawyer in the security field, has responded with his own statement regarding the rights of consumers to know about potential flaws in the products they buy. He also points out that knowledge about this technique had ‘leaked out’ to the Internet long before any of the recent news reports occurred and is readily available to anyone: Marc Tobias Statement
Recently there has been a rash of ‘bumping’ (a simple lock opening technique using a specially cut key, see the photo to the right) and lock picking in the news media. Here are links to several of the articles and reports:
YouTube.com, the popular, online amateur video site, hosts more than 24,000 (mostly bad) karaoke videos. However they also have over 200 lock picking videos. Here are snapshots from just a few:
Locksport International (a hobbyist group dedicated to promoting lock picking as a sport) has released a colorful (some say ‘comic book’ styled) guide to lock picking. Actually the guide covers a lot more than just that. It has sections on how locks work, how to disassemble them, how to re-pin the cylinder (change the working key) and even how to make your own lock picks. It also admonishes the reader to strictly follow the lock picker’s credo:
“You may only pick locks that you own, or those to which
you’ve been given explicit permission to pick by the rightful owner”
You can find the entire guide on the LockSport International website at: http://locksport.com/LSIGuide/lsiguide.pdf
LockPicking101 Continued Growth
As of of today (11/23/2006, Thanksgiving Day in the United States) Lockpicking101.com has grown to over 26,000 members. Below is a chart showing the recent growth of Lockpicking101:
(click HERE for a bigger image)
Notice that membership has accelerated significantly in the last 3 months. The cause of this rapid growth is both an increased awareness about lock picking as a hobby and recent publicity over the security concerns raised by such techniques as ‘bumping’.