3D Printed Skeleton Keys Can Pick High Security Locks in Seconds

Lock picking is something of an art form, while the basics can be learnt relatively quickly, there are locks out there that even the experts will struggle with, until now. Using 3D printing techniques, Jos Weyers and Christian Holler have been creating custom 3D printed key-esque strips of plastic and metal that can open high security locks in seconds, without ever needing to see the original key.

What they’ve created is known as a bump key, which slips into the lock and can be hit with a hammer in a certain way to pop the pins in the lock. Using software they created called Photobump, the two engineers now say they can easily bump a wide range of locks by printing 3D bump keys from a photograph of the keyhole! You don’t even need a high-end 3D printer to create these models.

This technique isn’t perfect, it can be expensive to create and it won’t work on all locks, but it has made currently lock picking techniques easier than ever. The team say they’re also trying to raise this issue with key manufacturers and lock makers to create more secure locks to deal with these kind of problems.

Thank you Wired for providing us with this information.

Image courtesy of Wired.