Defeating Works by Design's Unpickable Lock [video]
youtube.com
youtube.com
This needs a Lock Picking Lawyer attack on this lock. He'd be done in two minutes.
The trouble with this lock is that the removable key contacts the pins. Even though it's isolated from the outside when it's in contact the pins, you do get it back out after contact. So there's potential for impressioning.
A design where there's a level of indirection between the key and the sensing device would be better. Key goes in, and is read and the info stored. Key rotates further, and stored info is tested while the info storage mechanism is isolated from both the outside and the key.
Some locks like that have been built. I saw one with a column of steel balls for each pin. The key raises the columns of balls, depending on the bitting. The number of balls that are raised above the shear line then varies for each cylinder. That's the information storage device. As the key is rotated, the raised balls become isolated from the keyway. Then, protected from outside access, the columns of balls act as the key for an ordinary pin tumbler setup.
Pick-resistant locks have two known problems. First, if they have to fit inside a traditional lock cylinder space, the options are very limited. If you're willing to have a bigger lock body, pick resistance isn't as hard.
The second is more subtle. Pin-tumbler locks, as they wear, become easier to open. The pins wear and become rounded. Pick resistance decreases, but you don't get locked out. Some high-security designs fail in the direction of staying locked, even with a valid key. So either you have angry customers locked out, or everything has to be made in stainless steel with high precision at high cost. (That's Abloy.)