Kim Bohnet, president of the newly formed LockSport International (LSI), was kind enough to take the time to answer some of my questions about lock sports and the new organization.
Q: What is your definition of “Locksports”?
A: LockSports in brief, is the sport and hobby of lockpicking done in a legal and competitive manner either against a competitor(s) or against the clock with emphasis on speed.
Q: What do you see is the role of LockSport International?
A: The primary role of LSI is to globally bring together the locksport community in a legitimate, law-abiding manner, and to promote and give a “face” to an exciting, growing activity. By providing a central location for communication and contact, we can help legitimize the sport, and offer guidance to both established and starting clubs. Through membership fees we will be able to support and help form local, national, and international sporting events to bring both the budding enthusiast and the experts together for mutual benefit and enjoyment, ultimately culminating in a competitive championship series. We strive to provide a legal and safe atmosphere where enthusiasts can gather to enjoy their hobby without fear of reprisal or harassment.
We recognize and are thankful that our counterparts in Europe and the UK (TOOOL and others) have opened the way in their part of the world, but we’re looking not just at the Americas, but at a truly global network of association chapters that can be recognized and organized in a collective fashion for benefit to all.
Q: The LSI charter speaks of practicing locksports with highest ethical and moral principles. How will your organization address the potential ethical issues of lockpicking?
A: Good question. By organizing as a group we can have a strong united voice when it comes to not just the laws surrounding lock tools, etc.. but a voice when it comes to designing solutions to better the security of locks and associated hardware. LSI doesn’t exist just to find out the weakness’ of locks and locking systems, but to provide real solutions in making things BETTER.
In the Member’s Rules of Conduct and through the use of applications and membership cards with photo I.D., we’ve instituted a set of guidelines to help insure that association members conduct themselves according to the law, and specified disciplinary action should those laws, or the members rules of conduct be violated. We’ve discussed and implemented rules and
codes, and within the charter state that all law officers making lawful requests will be honored.
In order to have a strong association it is required that the members and and leaders uphold the highest possible set of standards some of which may be higher than the standards set by local jurisdiction of the member.
We believe that by promoting the sport in a highly ethical, legal, and organized fashion that few/if any issues will arise that cannot be dealt with in a proper and swift manner. We do not and will not condone illegal activity or the promotion of such activity of any kind, and will do whatever is within our ability to protect that reputation. Such disciplinary actions include expulsion from the association, and handing over of evidence to proper law officers as requested, and if we find out of a breach before the law enforcement officials do, contacting them in that regard.
At some point we may request adding criminal background checks to the application process, but it is extremely unlikely due to the many who now enjoy the hobby and sport with a high degree of moral, ethical, and legal practices.
Again, thanks to Mr. Bohnet for answering these questions.
Today on Lockpicking101 a new organization was announce; LockSport International. Headed by several Lockpicking101 regulars, Varjeal, Digital_Blue and Frostbyte, the organization’s mission is to:
…promote the hobby and competitive sport of lockpicking internationally, to aide in the development of the lockpicking skill of its members, and to provide a safe and fun environment where people can meet and exchange ideas.
If you haven’t heard of locksports, it is a growing hobby across North America and Europe. The sport’s goal is to learn how to pick various difficulties of locks as quickly as possible. Locksport clubs, particularly in Europe, are well organized and even hold annual tournaments where their members try to best each others picking skills.
LockPicking101.com is one of the most active on-line forums in the lock picking community. That was proven yesterday (June 24th, 2005), when the 10,000th user joined LP101.
(click for a larger image)
In fact, the growth of LP101 has been amazing. Since it’s start in the Spring of ’03, about 20 new users have been added each day:
(click for a larger image)
Certainly the interest in lock picking continues to grow.
You might think that the alt.locksmithing newsgroup would be a hive of leaked physical security secrets, but this is really not the case. Alt.locksmithing has long been frequented by professional locksmiths who both dismiss offhand any spilled information and spread misinformation in an attempt to confuse the readers.
However in 2000, a character called Freddie the Wire started opening talking about things which locksmiths had held as closely guarded secrets for years. The more Freddie posted, the larger the flame war became and the more Freddie responded with secrets. Suddenly information on drilling safes, bypass techniques, spiking, drill points, shimming padlocks, lock picking and impressioning was posted on Usenet for everyone to read.
No one will ever accuse Freddie of being a master of the English language and his postings should probably be rated PG-13 (at best). However, through the stilted wording and creative punctuation is a wealth of information.
Of course, Freddie’s legacy hasn’t gone away. Thanks to Google Groups, Freddie’s prose it still available today. Just a reminder once again that the Internet makes retrieving, retention and duplication of information (even locksmithing secrets) easy.
If you are thinking about learning lock picking and need a good book, there is no need to look any farther than Amazon.com.
Here are just a few of the titles that are available:
Of course, the one of the best ‘books’ on lock picking isn’t available on Amazon at all. It is the free, online ebook, “The MIT Guide To Lock Picking.â€Â
Everyday we place a great deal of trust in locks. This is because most people assume that even a simple lock represent a significant barrier to entry. Of course, we all know that a crowbar, hammer or just a swift kick would often open whatever container the lock is on, but without doing physical damage most people are stymied by a lock without a key.
However sometimes our faith in locks is not justified. Inexpensive locks on things like desks and filing cabinets are notoriously easy to open using a simple lock picking technique called raking. To open a lock using raking, you need two things; a tool which does the raking (called the rake or pick) and an ‘L’ shaped object which attempts to turn the lock (called a tension wrench).
In the video below you will see how a professional lock pick and tension wrench can easily open a typical office overhead bin. However, with just a little ingenuity, rakes can be made from many items (like a brass fastener or a printout clip) and pen tops and paper clips can act as tension wrenches. In fact, you will see that they are just as good (and sometimes even better) than professional picks for opening common office furniture locks.
Opening An Overhead Bin Using Raking (1.5 Megs)
(Unaltered, non-commercial distribution is allowed for this file)
So the next time you write your super-secret password on a slip of paper and ‘safely’ store it in your locked desk drawer, remember this tenet of good security: