Things that go BUMP in the night!
In the past I've heard mention of "bump keys" or "lock bumping". I never really looked into this and often thought to myself, "Big Deal... I've got three different locks to get into my apartment... not all three will be vulnerable to it." I also doubted that it was as big a deal as it is, I'd heard of the young girl who'd done it at DEFCON (read about it here, with video and background information on "lock bumping") but I still wasn't convinced of the risk.
I had since forgotten about this issue, until a link to an article in the Columbus Dispatch popped up today. I did some looking around and found this video on YouTube which shows how to make a bump key and then demonstrates it's operating. The video actually created some controversial discussion on whether or not demoing the process to create a bump key was a good idea. I think people need to realize that the information is out there for the malicious people to find if they really want to... Putting the information on somewhere like YouTube just makes it easier for the masses to get to. The Engadget article, linked above, has a picture of a bump key and the theory behind it... that's more than enough to create the key off of. There are plenty of other places as well.
Anyways, this concept had me quite intrigued, so of course, being the kind of person I am, I had to try it out.. I grabbed an old key that was laying around and an extra deadbolt that I have for playing around. It took me about 15-20 minutes to file down the 5 valleys on the key (and I was using a bulky old file)... Being that the deadbolt is assembled but not mounted made it interesting.. I had to apply pressure to the key, hold the deadbolt and "bump" it with a screwdriver all at once... In the end I managed to do it three times in a row in a period of about three minutes. Since I don't know the legality of such items in Canada, I figured my best bet after testing it for myself was to destroy the key... you'd be amazed at how fast a file cuts right through one. If anyone has any further information on the legality of such "tools/toys" in Canada, please let me know... I may actually contact a lawyer to investigate this further.
This is rather scary and has me seriously considering keypad locks.
I sent you all the legality info to you in an email….
Happy Picking
UWSDWF
President LSI Toronto
Hehe looks like you got an answer!
As far as I know, bump keys are nothing new and have been quite common with locksmiths for some time…just like any other sort of key. This technique, while maybe known in smaller circles for a long time, has only recently in the last few years become popularized. I can’t get to the site at work, but there are guys at toool.nlg (I think, and yes, it is 3 o’s) have made numerous excellent presentations and demonstrations at places like Defcon and CCC over the years about this amazing insecurity.
Trying to hide this sort of information or hold it only to the professional locksmithing community is no different than security through obscurity.
Hi,
I do agree man,
This took me 40 minutes after watching the video and understanding the concept,
there are specialized tools dedicated for this purpose, as this bump-key can be useful if one doesn’t have access to them,
Thanks
Nitin Kushwaha
CHFI.CEH.SCSCSA.CIW-SA.ITIL.MCSE.MCSA