Protect your home from “Lock Bumping and Bump Keys”
Thanks to my friend Shawn for sending me this video (see below). I had heard of lock bumping before, but didn’t know there were locks out there that couldn’t be “bumped”. Granted, criminals will always find a way around something, but just installing an extra level of protection does help:
NOTE: If you’re reading this from RSS or Email, you may need to click through to see the video below:
Fortunately, most mid priced locks that you find at the hardware store are now immune to lock-bumping. However, that doesn’t help the millions upon millions of door locks that are already installed on our homes.
At least if someone breaks a window while you are home you get some sort of notice but as can be seen by this video, a good lock bumper can make it in your home without warning.
Spend the extra bucks to upgrade your locks. At the very least make sure you have a dual lock system on your primary doors (dead bolt & traditional locking door knob).
I had no clue this even existed! What the heck!? I was all set to give this a try to, just to test my locks, but remembered that the key has to be specially made. Even still, I’m fairly concerned about it. I have renters insurance to protect my material things, but the emotional concerns would still be there. I wouldn’t feel safe in my own home, and that simply won’t do. I need to see about investing in these locks! Thanks for the head’s up.
This is a classic case of the media perpetuating fear. While the story contains elements of truth, it’s grossly exagerated.
This publication from the government of California explains the situation on page 4:
http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/newsletter/summer2007.pdf
Sadly lock bumping has been around for a longgg time and any basic lock can be bumped or raked pretty easily. High security ones are a safer bet for the average person. Typically, most hobby lock pickers and “bad guys” stick with only picking standard pin locks, not the mushroom or other variants that the high security ones consist of. But EVERYONE should keep in mind that ALL LOCKS ARE PICKABLE! If anyone doubts me take a look at DEFCON lock-picking competition which is open to general public and everyone par takes in it… locksmiths, criminals, hobbyists , everyone. There are some intense youtube videos about it on the web too.
* 90+% of American homes use an old style cylinder lock which is vulnerable to lock bumping.
* Your home’s door lock can even be bumped by a 10 year old child.
* Anyone can make a bump key in 5 minutes or less.
* When this modified key is used to unlock the doors to your house there are no signs of forced entry or damage to the lock. This makes the insurance companies very weary in paying for the claim. You could loose everything and not get compensated because of a bump key.
* With the digital underworld abuzz about this new home security threat, safety experts say it’s time to protect yourself against lock bumping.
That’s not good at all. Changing my locks as I type… 🙂
Yet another thing to worry about. I’ll have to look into getting a bump-proof locks. Although, I would imagine that there’s not way to ensure that an appropriately motivated thief won’t be able to get inside. If you build a better mouse trap, you just ensure that the fastest, smartest, luckiest mice are the ones who get to pass on their genes.
Also, I find it amusing that many of the google ads for this post seem to promoting the use of bump keys or their sale.
Well what do you know, this is the first time I also heard about this stuff. I also thought that there were actually locks that couldn’t be bumped. It’ll help me for a lifetime knowing about it.