Knock, Knock….My Take on Lock Bumping

Originally published July 8th, 2009.

I figured after the MSNBC story today on lock bumping I needed to put my views on the subject out there.

While lock bumping is a legitimate danger and very hard to detect, it has been blown way out of proportion by a now well known lawyer propelling the news media. By magnifying this danger other real and more likely dangers have been played down. Here are some types of attacks criminals use on your to gain access.

Brute Force:Kick-ins, crowbars, sledge hammers, bricks, pipe wrenches, etc. are the most common ways of gaining entry. Deterrents for these are simply better physical security such as good, properly installed deadbolts, high security door strikes, window break film, latch guards, etc. combined with good lighting and an alarm.

Using YOUR Key: Why would a good thief go through all the above work if all he has to do is use your key. Have you ever loaned out your house key to anyone? Have you ever handed them to anyone for any extended period of time such as when you have your auto serviced?  Left them set around at your place of work? If so entry to your home could cost as little as a $1.25 at any local key cutter. How can you prevent this? Don’t leave your keys set around. Only hand over what keys are necessary when giving them to someone. Have one of the locks on your door keyed different so when needing someone take care of something at your home you can simply lock the other lock to keep out any possible dangers. Have a restricted key way installed on your home by a locksmith: this keeps unauthorized duplicate keys from happening in the first place.

Walking Right In: Always lock your doors.

Covert Entry: Using locksmithing tools and methods to bypass your locks. Picking, pick guns, loiding, etc, and of course the subject of this article “BUMPING“. There are actually many responses from the lock industry to combat this overrated method of entry, however, the following is the best way to deter this.

Restricted keys: If you can’t get a key blank in the first place you can’t make a key to bump it. Steve’s Lock Out and many other lock shops can provide you with just such a key way.Bump Resistant Locks: Master lock has line called Bump Stop that is in my opinion one of the most bump resistant locks on the market. Also the deadbolts have a lock-out feature for when you are on the inside where no key, even the right one will let you gain access from the outside. Master provides a whole line of products to combat this from padlocks to doorknobs and deadbolts. Any locksmith can provide you with Bump Stop locks. If you come into Steve’s Lock Out we can tell you all about the locks, have product demos and even show you a video about lock bumping. We can also show you many other ways to protect your home and business.
 Some of the locks that were put out by the lock industry, even though making them nearly bump and pick-proof, ignored or “overlooked” the fact that the new designs are very weak to brute force attacks. Master Lock while not the strongest of locks is still a lock to be reckoned with and much stronger and resistant to brute force than many of the residential locks on the market.

I do not recommend using a lock with out any type of key what-so-ever on an application that has only one door for entry. All keyless locks on single door applications should have a key override in case of lock failure.

While I have not covered all points of the total security package (far from it) I hope I have given you some points to think about and urge you to examine all aspects of your security if you are truly worried about keeping you and yours safe.