Presentation at the German Navy

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.

hand on workshop

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.

6 Responses to “Presentation at the German Navy”

  1. Milan says:

    “For real security the mechanical lock is a lost battle”

    I accept that mechanical locks may not be good enough for the military anymore, but has it reached the point where they are not good enough for the houses and cars of normal people? If not, when might that happen?

  2. Buck-O says:

    Good to see your still alive Barry. Hows the flu coming?
    Any chance of getting some video from this event…or is it a hush hush kind of deal?

    Milan-
    In my oppinion, I dont think that mechanical locks are really effective for home use anymore either. Car locks anymore are a joke, and easily bypassed or picked.
    I think, anymore, the idea of a lock is just there for psychological support. The idea that “I’ve locked the door, therefore I am safe”. Anything more then that with general consumer grade locks, and you’re just kidding yourself.

  3. Barry says:

    Milan: There is more then just opening or bypassing a lock. Key control, problems that are kept under the hood, unauthorized duplication of keys, problems with masterkey systems … I could go on for a while since the list of problems seems endless.

  4. Jon d says:

    My mum says ‘locks only keep the good people out’

    otoh

    there’s a chinese proverb that says ‘lock your door, keep your neighbour honest’

    —–
    be a shame to lose the mechanical locks – I find the mechanism interesting in a way that electronics arent.

  5. jarren says:

    hay barry nice to hear from u again

  6. DWizzy says:

    Good to read from you again!

    Mechanical locks might have lost the war, but as long as I’m only having fights, my locks will do.

    I’m just curious as to what navy officers these were. Can we see you in the German NCIS soon? 😉