LOCKPICKING 3
LOCKPICKING 3
If it becomes necessary to pick a lock to enter a lab, the world’s most
effective
lockpick is dynamite, followed by a sledgehammer. There are
unfortunately, problems with noise
and excess structural damage with these
methods. The next best thing, however, is a set of
professional lockpicks.
These, unfortunately, are difficult to acquire. If the door to
a lab is locked,
but the deadbolt is not engaged, then there are other possibilities. The
rule
here is: if one can see the latch, one can open the door. There are several
devices
which facilitate freeing the latch from its hole in the wall. Dental
tools, stiff wire ( 20
gauge ), specially bent aluminum from cans, thin
pocket knives, and credit cards are the tools
of the trade. The way that all
these tools and devices are uses is similar: pull, push, or
otherwise move the
latch out of its recess in the wall, thus allowing the door to open. This
is
done by sliding whatever tool that you are using behind the latch, and forcing
the
latch back into the door.
Most modern doorknob locks have two fingers. The larger
finger holds the door
closed while the second (smaller) finger only prevents the first finger
from
being pressed in when it (the second finger) is pressed in by the catchplate
of the
door. If you can separate the catch plate and the lock sufficiently
far, the second finger
will slip out enough to permit the first finger to be
slipped.
(Ill. 2.11) ___
Small -> (| } <— The large (first) finger
second |___} <
finger
Some methods for getting through locked doors are:
1) Another
method of forced entry is to use an automobile jack to force the
frame around the door out of
shape, freeing the latch or exposing it to
the above methods. This is possible because most
door frames are designed
with a slight amount of "give". Simply put the jack into
position
horizontally across the frame in the vicinity of the latch, and jack it
out. If
the frame is wood it may be possible to remove the jack after
shutting the door, which will
relock the door and leave few signs of
forced entry. This technique will not work in concrete
block buildings,
and it’s difficult to justify an auto jack to the security guards.
2)
use a screwdriver or two to pry the lock and door apart. While holding
them apart, try to slip
the lock. Screwdrivers, while not entirely
innocent, are much more subtle than auto jacks, and
much faster if they
work. If you’re into unsubtle, I suppose a crowbar would work too, but
3) Find a set of double doors. They are
particularly easy to pry apart far
enough to slip.
4) If the lock is occasionally
accessible to you while open, "adjust" or
replace the catchplate to make it operate
more suitably (i.e., work so
that it lets *both* fingers out, so that it can always be
slipped). If
you want, disassembling the lock and removing some of the pins can make
it
much easier to pick.
5) If, for some odd reason, the hinges are on your side (i.e., the
door
opens outward), remove the hinge pins (provided they aren’t stopped with
welded
tabs). Unfortunately, this too lacks subtlety, in spite of its
effectiveness.
6) If the
door cannot be slipped and you will want to get through regularly,
break the mechanism. Use of
sufficient force to make the first finger
retreat while the second finger is retreated will
break some locks (e.g.,
Best locks) in such a way that they may thereafter be slipped
trivially,
yet otherwise work in all normal ways. Use of a hammer and/or
screwdriver is
recommended. Some care should be used not to damage the
door jamb when attempting this on
closed and locked doors, so as not to
attract the attention of the
users/owners/locksmith/police/….
7) Look around in desks. People very often leave keys to
sensitive things
in them or other obvious places. Especially keys to shared critical
resources, like supply rooms, that are typically key-limited but that
everyone needs access
to. Take measurements with a micrometer, or make a
tracing (lay key under paper and scribble
on top), or be dull and make a
wax impression. Get blanks for the key type (can be very
difficult for
better locks; I won’t go into methods, other than to say that if you can
get other keys made from the same blank, you can often work wonders with
a little ingenuity)
and use a file to reproduce the key. Using a
micrometer works best: keys made from mic
measurements are more likely
to work consistently than keys made by any other method. If you
us
tracings, it is likely to take many tries before you obtain a key that
works
reliably. Also, if you can ‘borrow’ the cylinder and disassemble
it, pin levels can be
obtained and keys constructed.
Simple locks, like desks, can be picked fairly easily. Many
desks have
simple three or four pin locks of only a few levels, and can be
consistently
picked by a patient person in a few minutes. A small
screwdriver and a paper clip will work
wonders in practiced hands. Apply
a slight torque to the lock in the direction of opening with
the
screwdriver. Then ‘rake’ the pins with the unfolded paper clip. With
practice,
you’ll apply enough pressure with the screwdriver that the pins
will align properly (they’ll
catch on the cylinder somewhere between the
top and bottom of their normal travel), and once
they’re all lined up,
additional pressure on the screwdriver will then open the lock. This,
in
conjunction with (7) can be very effective. This works better with older
or sloppily
machined locks that have a fair amount of play in the
cylinder. Even older quality locks can
be picked in this manner, if
their cylinders have been worn enough to give enough play to
allow pins
to catch reliably. Even with a well worn quality lock, though, it
generally
takes a *lot* of patience.
9) Custodial services often open up everything in sight and then
take
breaks. Make the most of your opportunities.
10) No matter what you’re doing, look
like you belong there. Nothing makes
anyone more suspicious than someone skulking about,
obviously trying to
look inconspicuous. If there are several of you, have some innocuous
and
normal seeming warning method ("Hey, dummy! What time is it?") so that
they can get anything suspicious put away. Don’t travel in large groups
at 3 AM. Remember,
more than one car thief has managed to enlist a cop’s
aid in breaking into a car. Remember
this. Security people usually
*like* to help people. Don’t make them suspicious or annoy them.
If you
do run into security people, try to make sure that there won’t be any
theft or
break-ins reported there the next day…
11) Consider the possibilities of master keys. Often,
every lock in a
building or department will have a common master (building entrance keys
are a common exception). Take apart some locks from different places
that should have common
masters, measure the different pin lengths in
each, and find lengths in common. Experiment.
Then get into those
places you’re *really* curious about.
12) Control keys are fun, too.
These keys allow the user to remove the
lock’s core, and are generally masters. (A pair of
needle nose pliers or
similar tool can then be used to open the lock, if desired.)
SLIPPING A LOCK
The best material we’ve found for slips so far is soft sheet
copper. It
is quite flexible, so it can be worked into jambs easily, and can be pre-bent
as needed. In the plane of the sheet, however, it is fairly strong, and pulls
nicely. Of
course, if they’re flexible enough, credit cards, student IDs,
etc., work just fine on locks
that have been made slippable if the door jamb
is wide enough. Wonderfully subtle, quick, and
delightfully effective. Don’t
leave home without one.
(Ill. #1)
The
sheet should then be folded to produce an L,J,or U shaped device that
looks like this:
________________________________________
/________________________________________|
|
|
| | L-shaped
| |
| |
|_|
(Ill. #2)
_____________________________
/ ___________________________|
| |
| | J-shaped
| |________
\________|
(Ill. #3)
_____________________
/
___________________|
| |
| |
| | U-shaped
| |
|
|____________________
\____________________|
We hasten to add here that
many or most colleges and universities
have very strict policies about unauthorized possession
of keys. At
most, it is at least grounds for expulsion, even without filing criminal
charges. Don’t get caught with keys!!! The homemade ones are
particularly obvious, as they
don’t have the usual stamps and marks
that the locksmiths put on to name and number the
keys.]
we should also point out that if you make a nuisance of yourself, there are
instance, by
putting special pin mechanisms in, locks can be made to trap any
key used to open them. If you
lose one this way, what can I say? At least
don’t leave fingerprints on it. Or make sure
they’re someone else’s. Too
much mischief can also tempt the powers that be to rekey.
-= Exodus =-