If you use ‘smart’ Bluetooth locks, you're asking to be burgled Bluetooth-enabled locks are increasingly popular, but an analysis of 16 such devices shows 12 are easily hackable with inexpensive kit and some can be broken into from 400 metres away. In a presentation to the DEF CON hacking conference in Las Vegas security researcher Anthony Rose detailed how to hack these supposedly smart …
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Ever asked yourself WHY burglars don't just smash the window on a house to gain entry?
They make a huge noise when doing so, especially double glazed windows which you have to hit in the right place anyway, if bloody obvious to any overlooking neighbors and you're likely to slice yourself to ribbons when climbing through. That's why if they are going to break the glass, it's usually a small plane to get access to a lock.
Besides, 7 times out of 10 they can just do what the SWAT do when they insist of coming in: use brute force to break the hasp or the frame. Because most door frames are made of wood, they don't take as much force as you think (OTOH, many commercial door frames are made of steel), and there's little you can do to stop them, especially when the house is empty (meaning possible countermeasures like door stops can't be used).
> Ever asked yourself WHY burglars don't just smash the window on a house to gain entry?
Don't know where you live, but there is as much science behind burglary as in any other trade, legal or not.
In a nutshell, locks in general have minimal deterrence value in general, and zero deterrence within the burglar industry.
You may find that houses with better locks tend to be broken into less often, but that's because they have better overall security.
Which will be nothing next to the surprise of those morons buying these doomed-to-fail locks when they report a theft and their insurance says "um, sorry, but those BT locks are not approved and represent a security risk, so we're not going to pay for your stupidity".
Following a recent case in the Lords, the insurance companies would have to prove that the deficient locks were directly responsible for the claim. Somehow, I doubt most burglaries will be facilitated by the reprobates capturing and replaying some bluetooth data packets, but by smashing a part of themselves against the door til it opens.
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"Try next door, they just have an up and over garage door with one of those locking catches you can rotate off its screws with a Stilson."
Next door had a racing bicycle stolen from their locked integral garage. The up-and-over door was a common 1970s design.
The policewoman who came to investigate showed them that a thump with your fist in the right place was "Open Sesame". The single sound could have been attributed to anyone in the row coming home late at night.
Thieves recently tried to break into another neighbours' garage with a more secure door. The CCTV showed they used a bolt cutter to remove the external side bolts' locks. However they had assumed that external side bolts meant the original door lock's key was lost. They had not come prepared to defeat that.
That door - and several neighbours' - now have ground obstruction locks as well. It sounds like a Hammer film when they open up their garages.
> Thieves recently tried to break into another neighbours' garage with a more secure door. The CCTV showed they used a bolt cutter
The fact that a) they brought incriminating tools with them and b) were caught on candid camera tells me those two were complete amateurs. Which makes them all the more annoying.
Ours is the one with the door wide open that means everyone thinks we are in even when we aren't (OK happened once).
More seriously our road is the one with "P" living on it since almost when it first opened, who knows everyone and has an interest in what's going on. That means we could leave our door open and any misinformed individual who came around and found the door not shut by "P" or another neighbour would likely find a "taxi" with blue lights waiting to take him to his next appointment on his exit.
not that i'd every buy one of these for my front door, but any reason you missed out the biggest manufacturers of these devices?
Yale make several - some up to £400, i trust old Yale hardware, have they taken the years of experience over to ZWave?
Thatcham also appear to make them, again reputable brand moving into the new tech did they do it well or just buy a chinese brand ?
Real world examples please...
Indeed I agree. In fact I am not really sure apart from a few circumstances, such as the disabled why they are needed.
Making it electronic you are just adding another vulnerability level surely, and does that not defeat the purpose of securing something?
Also what happens if there is a power failure? I assume they default to locked? So do you stay out of your house until the power is sorted?
I'm really struggling to see the point of these things for general use.
Given how pretty much every car these days has some kind of wireless unlocking system, I'm going to guess that the general public want to be able to press a button to unlock their doors.
(I've only started using the one on my car recently, since someone messed up the drivers door lock trying and failing to break in)
"Thatcham also appear to make them, again reputable brand moving into the new tech did they do it well or just buy a chinese brand ?"
I may be wrong, but a quick google appears to confirm Thatcham remains the organisation that tests and certifies security devices and they aren't a "brand" as such.
how about an upgrade, available in 5 colours, including blue!
Masterlock have a very long and unsullied record of making utterly useless locks that pretty much anyone can pick with even rudimentary tools; they rely on the fact that not very many people actually even bother to try to pick their locks, and hence fail to realise how utterly useless they actually are.
Their Bluetooth lock is simply more of the same. The lock is waterproof and reasonably secure against Bluetooth hacking, but true to form Masterlock have skimped on the physical security. A few good whacks with a hammer (or a brick if you cannot risk getting lifted for going equipped) and the whole thing breaks apart.
Save your money for an Abloy high security padlock. It isn't Bluetooth, but it isn't going to get bumped, picked or smashed in a hurry.
"A few good whacks with a hammer (or a brick if you cannot risk getting lifted for going equipped) and the whole thing breaks apart."
Out of interest, if plod catches you with half a housebrick in your pocket at 1am, do you think the excuse "I'm a builder" is going to work any more than it would if you were caught with a hammer?
Dunno why the said Masterlock was OK as only takes 2 hammer blows to open their bluetooth padlock.
Actually it's fairly easy to break modern double glazing and it's quieter than regular glass, you just have to know how.
The purpose of any lock is to cause a thief to think it's too much bother, I will rob somebody else instead.
If the average thief knew how vulnerable many modern locks are then we would be in a considerably worse position.
Instead I have seen window frames pulled out, holes cut in the side of bungalows and caravans, snapped euro locks, slates lifted (and piled very neatly) from roofs, flat roofs cut through, melted uPVC frames and hundreds of broken windows.
Main entrance method though is the already open window or unlocked door.
If you think Bluetoothlocks with no external mechanical attack vectors are a bad idea you should check out Bosnian bill on YouTube.
He was impressed with a Bluetooth lock when he tried to get in one mechanically.
Watch his other stuff to see how quickly he gets in to 5 lever locks. And the noke stuff got through defcon? Might have to get one.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PqeWupKN2W0
Go ahead and get cocky. Post a sign at your house that says "We don't lock the doors; beware of dog." See how fast it gets your ass taken to the cleaner's.
If your dog isn't a TRAINED guard dog, his loyalty and silence can easily be bought for the price of a juicy steak or other shank of meat from the nearest supermarket.
The average domestic dog is only scary because the lizard brain associates the sounds an angry dog can make with those an angry wolf will make, but Rover, Yeller, Killer, etc, is a domesticated animal who's probably been socialized all his or her life with people, and is used to taking food from them. So if the thieves come prepared with so much as some dog treats your pooch likes, they can easily get the dog to behave while they pillage your home; or just lure him into a room they're okay with not looting and close the door on him.
"If your dog isn't a TRAINED guard dog, his loyalty and silence can easily be bought for the price of a juicy steak or other shank of meat from the nearest supermarket."
Trained or simply xenophobic. If your dog's the type that tends to charge and bark at any newcomer to the house, there may not be time for the bribe. Dog socialization can be quite specific to a family since dogs think in terms of packs.
“Did I lock the door?” 30% people wonder after they leave home. This is a known short-term memory problem resulting from the automation of everyday activities. You can go back and check your lock or save your time and increase your confidence with SureKey. Offline and standalone :) SmartLocks will never be fully secure.
SureKey: the smart key cover that reminds you whether or not your door is locked and helps you track your keys
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