Key set available for $150 on eBay provides an all-access pass to NYC | Hacker News Reader

Key set available for $150 on eBay provides an all-access pass to NYC

nypost.com

40 pointsthetabyte16 comments

Too much hyperbole, especially regarding what "could" happen. Isn't the local pizzeria a dream for a terrorist, since he could feed all his men for a buck a slice? Let's get angry and shut those terrorist-lovers down! (Roll eyes.)

(Anyone wanting to get into these locks could pick them in 30 seconds. Locks are for keeping honest people out, not for defending against terrorists. Terrorists with 767s don't need keys to anything. Occupy Wall Street protesters that want to shut down a bank's elevator system will still have to get past security to get to the elevator control panel.)

Ironically, the so-called master key only appears to have four pins, two fewer than my apartment. The locks these keys unlock are designed to be secured by other means.

And, by posting high resolution photos, the NY Post has ensured that anyone with access to a 3D printer can easily replicate them for free :P.

Not that it really matters since keys have been and pretty much always were security theatre from the very beginning.

Forget the 3D printer -- you can cut these by hand with a Pak-A-Punch (e.g. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjhZdqCnrZA ).

The NY Post is trying to generate controversy and sell papers, not perform real journalism or prevent catastrophes.

but terrorists!

exactly!

In a fluff piece today on Gramercy Park the NY Times published this image: http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2012/09/30/realestate/30JU...

I suspect they'll be seeing a bit more foot traffic in the future.

The really funny part is that the NYPOST has done far more of a disservice than the guy on eBay.

Now the entire internet has pictures of the profile of the key, simply buy some blanks, enlarge the photo til it prints the same size as the blank, and then file the blank to match the profile of the key.

Why buy the key set when you can make dupes from the high-resolution picture in the article?

You don't even need the hi-res images -- keys can be copied from afar using telephoto lenses and the like: http://www.jacobsschool.ucsd.edu/news/news_releases/release....

The key set isn't the problem, that apparently you only need five keys is. Having secure keys is at least as important as the security of the lock, and a single key shared for the entire city isn't that.

How would you propose firemen accesing the elevators of any building of the city, or city lighting engineers accessing power panels? Every team can't lug around 10.000 physical keys.

There is always a compromise between security and usability. And for almost all systems, practical usability is mandatory, but security is nice-to-have - it's completely enough to deter nonserious attackers such as the majority of drunken vandals.

In college, my friend (who was by no means an expert) picked the lock on the elevator with a paperclip and a shim. These "locks" are only designed to keep out the honest people.

I remember in my teens picking old locks simply with two paperclips. All locks sold in normal stores can be picked with very basic tools. Any house lock can be very quickly unlocked by a professional. There are plenty of videos on YouTube showing just how much of a joke most all locks are. Deadbolts can be picked with household items. Those sliding locks with chains can be defeated with just a rubber band.

That's funny. My workplace has a lot of very very expensive gear, and I never got a key. The roller grill is the type you see in malls and arcades. Any small key will get me in, and once a small spoon did too.

I was amazed when I learned how many people in Germany have all-access keys to apartment buildings (learned this when my bike was stolen).

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