If you are wondering why I was a little slow with blackbag, it is
because I was busy preparing for the CeBit conference in Hannover.

CeBit is the biggest consumer electronics tradeshow on the planet. And
ever since we came to the market we have had a booth there, and every
time it has been a little stressful to complete the demo models for the booth.

It is hard work at the booth, and I make many hours, but luckily there
are some circumstances that make life bearable …

Feel free to drop by at our booth in hall 7 booth D22 for a cup of coffee ….

Mul-T-Lock’s MT5 …

It promises to be a pretty secure lock. Besides having the famous ‘pin
in pin’ (or telescopic pin) system, there is an interactive element
in the key. This interactive element is merely a copy protection
mechanism if you ask me. The third security feature is a ‘laser track’
type grove. The pins (called fingerpins) that are set with this grove
operate a sidebar. I must say it looks pretty solid.

I can’t wait to get my hands on two or three of these locks.

You might wonder why I want two or three locks, and not just start
with one?

The answer is simple: I am curious if all locks will have their own
individual fingerpin/sidebar code. I think and hope Mul-T-Lock is
clever enough to do this, and not make the same mistake ASSA made with
the sidebar codes on the TWIN series. If each lock will have its own
individual sidebar code it will be a tough nut to crack. Based on what
info is available on the net.

One other reason to want a couple of locks is to take one or two apart
and look at all parts individually. Sometimes technical drawings (or
even complete video animations) can be pretty unclear. Before I try to
pick a lock I always collect as much information about it as possible.
And there is no better way to understand how a lock works then fully
taking it apart and let the pins and parts run through your fingers
while examining them.

Although I must admit the video animation made by Mul-T-lock does give
you a nice impression about how the lock works.

The video can be found here (WMV 3 MB) … pretty informative if you ask me.

My pickset is itching to have a try at this lock. The name MT5 has
been released months ago, yet I am still waiting to see it available
in the shops.

More on the MT5 when it is available on the market … or do you think
they will send me some samples to review?

to be continued…

The Editie NL video is available now …

http://blackbag.toool.nl/video/editie-nl.wmv (10 Mb)

Or on youtube (for those having problems with WMV files)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_Re5GOARjc

Those were my words when someone pointed me to the new and improved
website of multipick in Germany. Previously they offered a set of 10
or 12 bumpkeys. We tested these keys in our consumer reports test in
2006, and found they were of very poor quality.

However, multipick now seems to have invested seriously in their
bumpkey division.

You can now order individual keys online, and to make things
convenient they included the images of the profiles of the keyways.

Life for criminals have never been easier … Just examine the lock
you want to open (or make a picture), compare with the profile
sketches on their website and order the correct key online.

We have not tested any of multipick’s keys yet, but looking at how serious
they invested in their website I fear for the worst….

Dutch RTL just visited me to shoot some video for a TV item about this
new site and the consequences it has for security in general. It will be
aired on RTL4 around 18:15 today in a program called ‘editie NL‘.

(Video available now, WMV 10 Mb)

I just returned from a two day trip to Germany. The German Navy invited me
for a presentation, and Han Fey was kind enough to assist me with it.

For almost three hours I did a presentation about locks and physical
security. I covered nearly every technique in the book, including safe
opening and some rather unknown NDE (Non Destructive Entry) tricks and
techniques. My opening line for the presentation was: “I apologize to
you. At the end of this presentation you will not feel comfortable
anymore, realizing the trust you put in mechanical locks in the past
was based on wrong assumptions. For real security the mechanical lock
is a lost battle …”

It is always nice to receive compliments, and after the presentation I
received many of them. And many people confirmed to me that they indeed
see the physical security world in a completely different perspective now…

After the presentation we did two ‘hands on’ sessions. During these
session the Navy people could try picking, bumping, safe opening and
other techniques themselves. And of course play with the ‘Todesmagnet’
(magnet of death) on an older version of the Winkhaus Blue Chip lock….

Having finished this presentation and the preparations to it I now
have some more time on my hands. Time I will use to post more on this
weblog … thanks for still reading it … stay tuned for more.

(* I am recovering from the flu, will try to re-write this posting and shoot some video of it when I feel better)

Oli mailed me enthusiastically with a trick he heard from a locksmith
when I was in Barcelona.

Unfortunately it is not a trick to open an EVVA 3KS lock. I believe
the 3KS lock is one of the most decent locks ever made. Virtually
impossible to open without damaging it, hard to drill and keys that
are very secure against unauthorized duplication.

And EVVA is improving the design of this lock all the time.
The proof of that statement is at the end of this posting ….

The story that came to me was that you could add an extra layer of
‘master key’ protection to a standard 3KS lock by removing some
material of the key.

Normally you can only withdraw a working key after full rotation of the
key in the lock. However, if you remove the top layer of one side of
the key, you can remove it after 180 degree rotation. This will keep the
lock in a very odd state. The lock is still locked, yet will not allow
a non modified key entrance to the lock. Only a key that is filed flat
on one side will be allowed entrance and can open (or close) the lock
when it is in this ‘180 degree state’.

At first this might not sound like a big deal. But it is a nice way
for a store owner to lock (or open) his shop and he is the only one
that can operate the lock. Or at least it will give him the power to
deny otherwise valid keys entry to the lock. I would not call this a
bug or design error, but a nice feature.

Here are some of the pictures Oli send me:

Step 1) The EVVA 3KS lock and the modified key. Normally there is a ‘wave’

on the top and bottom of the sides of the key. But now on
one side this ‘wave’ is completely filed down.

Step 2) Key with flat filed part is inserted in the lock, flat side
facing downward. Take a close look at the black ‘follower’ that is in
the down position on this picture.

Step 3) Turn Key 180 degrees. You can see the black follower now is
aimed upwards.

Step 4) Remove key. Now the flat side is on the top side. In this
state, original, non-modified keys can not be inserted into the lock.
Only a key that is flat on one side can be inserted and operate the lock.

I was glad to receive the images from Oli and decided to shoot some
video on this subject. I took one of my new EVVA 3KS locks and started
to file away on the key. However, no matter what I tried I could not
remove my key after 180 degrees. I did try many things, yet the lock I
have can not be opened this way. So I will call my contact at EVVA
tomorrow and ask his opinion on this. My guess is they improved the
lock in the meanwhile and it is no longer possible on newer models.

I wanted to shoot some photos of the internals of a 3KS lock to show
you why there is a relief profile on the sides of the key and why this
trick works on the older generation 3KS locks. Unfortunately my
digital photo camera is not available till the end of this week. So I
could not shoot the images yet. Will do so at the end of the week.

To be continued …

As you might have read I am currently in Barcelona and making long
days on the CryptoPhone booth at 3GSM. So the weblog is a little slow.

Friday (or at latest Saturday) there will be an interesting piece of
information on the EVVA 3KS lock. For those of you who like a challenge/puzzle
the image below gives away something already….

Back in Amsterdam now, but only for a few hours. Currently at Schiphol
airport waiting for my flight to Barcelona. There is a CryptoPhone
booth this year at the 3GSM congress and I am one of the people
running it.

Anyway, about Kevin’s lockpick business cards….

He was willing to demo picking locks if I was able to reliably open
locks with his picks. If you want to see what happened you have to
watch the following video: Lockpick business cards (WMV) or on Youtube.

Reporting live from the IT-Defense conference in Leipzig …

Tonight I received the coolest business card ever.

Kevin Mitnick will be speaking tomorrow morning at It-Defense, and we met each other at Dinner.

When he gave some people his business card they immediately directed him into my direction.

It was nice to meet him again, and he will join me picking locks tomorrow and try his own business card picks.

Hopefully I will have it on video for you.

And I will try to find out who makes these cards. It could become pretty popular since it is a brilliant idea.

And it looks like the quality is decent too. Lets see tomorrow if they are any good ….

We are on our way to it-defence in Leipzig Germany. A nice conference
with the best of the best speakers in the field of IT security.

I was invited back after giving a presentation last year. And I must
say I have good memories of it. Nice and friendly people and good
ambiance in a first class hotel.

This time I am not a speaker on the main track, but just for the small
and cozy round table talks. During these talks anything can be
discussed. From lockpicking to special locks or even CryptoPhone. And
in the meantime I will set up a lockpick training table for people to
come and pick, bump and impression some locks during the breaks.

For that it is nice I yesterday received my Kroeplin poco 2F measurement
device. Right on time. This little gadget will allow you to take quick
and very easy measurements from a key while impressioning.

More on the conference in the days to come …