I had a locksmith out a couple of years ago, and was very disappointed when he simply got out a drill rather than starting with 'click out of one'.
LPL makes things look easy, I'm sure they aren't.
It took me 30 minutes to make and use a tool that he demonstrated using on a lock similar to one I own and most of that time was spent rummaging around my place trying find stuff.
Lastly, I think you got taken advantage of by a locksmith out to sell more locks and keys.
The only low-skill attack that seems to have any widespread effectiveness (and would therefore be worth trying on every lock) is raking, and that is pretty easily defeated by any lockmaker who cares.
For example I made a shim and opened a lock I own in less than 30 minutes after watching one of his videos that featured a similar lock. I had never opened a lock without a key before that day, don't have much use of two fingers on one hand, and my toolbox fits in a kitchen drawer.
For your list of common low skill attacks which have widespread effectiveness I would also include shimming, hammering, and cutting. Also in the case of locks with electronics associated with them, strong magnets.
On the other hand, if the locksmith clicked my lock out in just 30 seconds, I would probably ask him/her to sell me a better (and sometimes more expensive) lock based on his/her professional opinion.
Now that I thought about it this deep, I think I can be a locksmith too with all the nature advantages that I clearly have here. I don't even need a power drill, a battering ram is well enough for my job. And if somebody call me to open their door, I'll just ask which color they would like for the new door that whey about to own.
A story I was told once by an electrician who worked at a steel works for years.
The story goes something like this:
One day he was called out to a big engineering workshop, all their fancy new equipment is on the blink.
He walks up to one of the machines, has a look, then without saying anything promptly turns around and walks outside, followed by the curious manager.
The electrician circles the building and turns on the first tap he sees, and lets the water flow for a few minutes spilling on the ground. After leaving that go for a while, he turns the tap off again, and walks back in and tells the machine operators to try again. Magically, they all start working again.
The electrician has been there for barely a few minutes and hasn't even touched the machine or anything else electrical.
The manager asks for an explanation, since the electrician didn't even touch anything electrical. By way of response, the electrician says "You had someone fix that tap outside that was leaking, didn't you?" the manager replies in the affirmative. The electrician then explains that the leaking tap was keeping the building grounded - the slow leak was just enough to keep the sandy soils moist enough for a proper earth connection.
The electrician hands over the bill, with the emergency callout fee and minimum hours, etc. The manager protests that surely just turning on a tap didn't warrant a fee that large.
The electrician replies that turning the tap on was free, knowing to turn the tap on was what they were paying for.
Whether that story is true or not, there's plenty of similar ones.
The point is that while you might get annoyed that an expert came in and solved the problem quickly, without that expert you were going to wait a lot longer or spend a lot more trying to fix it some other way.
Personally, I'd rather deal with a locksmith that gave me the option: We can drill the lock, you can pay (say) $300 for new locks and keys and it'll take 30 minutes. Or, you can pay $300, we'll pick it in a minute, you keep your existing keys.
The locksmith I called a few years ago used a long piece of wire with a string attached, slid it under the door to pull down the door handle from the inside.
Spoiler: he leaned on the door to hold the latch in place, then used a plastic shim to trip it open.
I learned to pick my parents safe and door locks by 8, and have taught dozens of children to pick virtually every lock you can find in a hardware store.
As a security engineer the first thing I teach peers isn't even software, but lock picking.
Peoples minds really open up when you show them how to open every lock in their own office in under an hour of training.
"Is security on almost everything we trust every day really this shit?!"
"Yes"
That’s a common occurrence because of the incentives. The locksmith wants to spend as little time as possible (average time), and doesn’t pay a premium for destroying the lock, since most people don’t confront them on that.
LPL is amazing, but any decent locksmith could get at least near enough him in competence. It’s not that it’s so hard that very little people can do it, it’s that is very niche for most people to learn.
After all, if you spent a fortune in some lock and the locksmith can open it in 5 seconds flat, you’ll feel ripped off. It’s possible that a lot locksmiths believe the locks to be safe, and they think they’re saving time by going the drill route.
Not to mention that if the locksmith is selling you the lock, he will want to avoid damaging their reputation.
“Locksmith says my videos are BS… Loses $75 (Maybe)”
Also if you actually watch this keynote half the problem isn’t locks you can actually pick but stuff you can just open with very basic tools that don’t even require the skill he has. Like combs, rakes, hammers, slithers of metal, etc.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnmcRTnTNC8
Someone who wants to get in is probably already on his way out while LPL is only halfway through with the lock.
LPL's career isn't lockpicking is it? I was under the impression that it was just a hobby that turned into a youtube channel. I seem to recall him saying that he just picks locks all the time, and that's why he's good. I think he said that when he watches movies he takes a 30 locks and then he just sits there and picks them while watching.
Anyway, if you watch all / most of his videos the near constant refrain running through them isn't "with finely honed skills and the right hard to find speciality tools it's easy to open this lock" (though he does do that). Instead it's: "it's easy to open this lock with no or few skills, no or little practice, with trivially found, improvised, or purchased tools, using exploits that have been known in the lock manufacturing and locksmithing industries for decades or centuries".
That in turn is his point in this keynote. These exploits have been known in the lock manufacturing and locksmithing industries for decades or centuries and yet many, perhaps most of the locks that people can buy in stores, still have those flaws (which are easy and inexpensive to eliminate in the design and construction process).
Pretty sure it's not. From what I've gathered, watching his videos, he's also doing consulting/training for companies on physical security.
You call out masterlock but they're particularly bad. I lost the key to one and kept using it for a year because unlocking it was as simple as just putting the pick in while turning.