Lock Picking and Lock Bumping

 



Most residential (home) locks can be quickly and easily bypassed by picking or bumping. This can allow an adversary covert access to your home, and if someone breaks into your home using these methods and steals your property a police report reading that there were "no signs of forced entry" can complicate any claim that you may file against your homeowner’s or renter’s insurance.

 

Lock picking and bumping leave little if any sign that a lock has been bypassed, and the basics of these skills can be easily learned from books, on-line video, and practice with inexpensive lockpick sets and training locks.

Some references I recommend for learning lock picking are:

 

Lock Picking - by Deviant Ollam

Bosnia Bill's Lock Lab

 

The LSI Guide to Lock Picking

MIT Guide to Lock Picking (A classic reference from 1991)

 

Locks: Basic Operation and Manipulation - by Schuyler Towne - YouTube Channel

Padlock Shim Video - ITS Tactical - How to Open a Padlock with a Coke Can

EZ Decoder: Easily Decipher or Bypass a Multi-Wheeled Combination Lock

 

I also highly recommend these two books by Deviant Ollam:



Practical Lock Picking, Second Edition: A Physical Penetration Tester's Training Guide 2nd Edition

Keys to the Kingdom: Impressioning, Privilege Escalation, Bumping, and Other Key-Based Attacks Against Physical Locks

 

High-security locks can prevent successful picking and bumping attacks by all but the most skilled locksmiths. For high-security deadbolt locks I recommend either Medeco or Mul-T-Lock brands. Both of these manufacturers produce high-quality locks that are extremely resistant to picking and bumping. This high quality is also reflected in the high price of these locks, which can be four or five times the price of more common residential deadbolt locks. Still, if your threat model includes the possibility of surreptitious entry into your home, top quality locks are going to be worth the extra cost.

Some have recommended the Kwikset or Wiser Smart Key deadbolt lock as an inexpensive "pick and bump proof" lock. I do not recommend this lock type because it can be easily bypassed as can be seen in this video.

It should be understood that any lock (even Medeco and Mul-T-Lock) can be defeated given enough time and sufficient skill by the attacker. What we hope to do by using high-security locks is prevent the majority of individuals with lock picking skills from being able to bypass our locks and defeat our security.

Also, when installing high-security locks it is essential that they be properly installed and that your doors be reinforced to prevent them from being easily kicked in. The Victoria, TX Police Department has an excellent video "Home Security Tips: How a 50 cent investment can dramatically strengthen your doors" that shows a simple method of improving the strength of your doors. I also recommend that you include reinforcement on your doors with a product like Door Armor MAX which will defeat many forced entry attacks. Finally, when you are at home you may want to add additional security to your doors. The Defender High Security Door Reinforcement Lock (placing one on the top third of the door and one on the bottom third of the door) or the Nightlock Security Lock Door Barricade are options that you might want to consider.