Print your own key

We’ve heard of computer hackers that illegally access credit card companies’ servers and steal credit card information. We know of hackers that bring down entire websites or deface them with their own message. Now we’ve been presented with a new hacking experience – three MIT students unveiled their technique on how to duplicate a key that is supposedly “not-duplicatable.”

The electrical engineering students focused on lock maker Schlage’s Primus* locks. These locks are advertised for use in high-security environments such as government facilities, healthcare settings, detention centers, etc. and are generally thought of as being beyond the average hardware store keymaker’s ability to be reproduced. The only way to get a copy of the key is to go directly to Schlage.

With a flatbed scanner and their software the students were able to render a precise 3D model which they uploaded to the online 3D printing service Shapeways.com that produced a working key made out of nylon for around $5, a more durable titanium key from i.Materialise.com cost them $150. iMaterialize has stated on their own blog that had they known the intentions of the students, the key would not have been printed.

At Def Con 21, the hacker conference held from August 1–4, 2013 in Las Vegas, the students released a piece of code that anyone can use to create a key with readily available 3D printing tools. Does that make these three young men evil? We think it just shows that because something worked for a long time, it shouldn’t be assumed that it will work forever. 3D printing is bound to result in new concerns for manufacturers and security professionals, but as we know with anything technology related, once it’s here you can’t stop it.

Perhaps the answer for high-security institutions is to move from mechanical locks that are vulnerable to key duplication to electronic locking devices.

*To be fair we have to point out that “high security locks” from other manufacturers would be just as vulnerable to duplication with this method as Schlage’s Primus model.

Have a question about how to implement electronic locks in your CT business or institution? Email Jim Arsenault or call him at 860-678-9797.

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