Locksport
Locksport
Locksport is the practice of lockpicking as a hobby, usually in a group. Like their digital security counterparts, locksport encourages learning and entertainment over malicious activity. The popularity of locksport has dramatically increased in recent years due to increased awareness of lock and safe related vulnerabilities and the creation of many dedicated locksport groups around the world.
History
The origins of locksport date as far back as the 1850s, when lock manufacturers began to take security seriously. There were public competitions held to tout the security of new locks. Of course, lock makers expected their locks to be unpickable, and often offered substantial rewards for a successful picking. The Bramah company was one of these manufacturers, and had an outstanding open challenge dating back to 1801.
In 1851, American locksmith Alfred C. Hobbs was sent to London's "Great Exhibition of 1851" to advertise the Parautopic Lock on behalf of New York lock maker Day & Newell. Hobbs claimed that he could easily defeat the best lock at the time, one made by the Bramah company. Bramah accepted his challenge. Hobbs was given a sample lock, a collection of blank keys, and thirty days to pick the lock. After 24 days, in front of both judges and spectators, Hobbs opened the Bramah lock with a key he had made. When challenged as a fluke by judges, Hobbs proceeded to lock, unlock, and relock the Bramah with the same key. The manufacturer was upset; until then the lock was thought impenetrable. They claimed Hobbs had used a trick, just got lucky, or that the lock was damaged in some way. Regardless of their claims, Hobbs proved his claim, and gave the lock industry a clear goal: develop better locks. Though the event would plant the seeds for later generations of lockpickers, it would take over a hundred years for locksport to return.
Security conferences began to emerge in the early 1990s and the challenge of breaking digital security was a popular pastime. Out of this a curiousity for locks developed, and many hackers began to explore locks, safes, and physical security. These conferences became the base for a large community of lockpickers and phsyical security experts. Many of these same people would create the locksport community.
In 1994, while attending the HOPE security conference, Steffen Wernéry bought his first pick set at a nearby spy shop. Wernéry was not a complete stranger to lockpicking; he had made a crude pick set at the age of 12. Together with his friend Juergen Dreessman he began learning the theory and application of lockpicking. Wernéry and Dreessman grew increasingly interested in locks, both learning a great deal about lockpicking and the peculiarities of certain locks models. The two would go on to give a lecture on lockpicking at the 1996 Chaos Communication Congress, a German security conference. In 1997 the pair founded Sportsfreunde der Sperrtechnik (SSDEV), the first established locksport group, in Hamburg, Germany. SSDEV held the first locksport competition in 1997, named The Dutch Open
In the years that followed The Open Organization of Lockpickers (TOOOL) was founded in the Netherlands. TOOOL quickly became an influential group, being one of the first groups to publish information regarding key bumping as well as working with European lock makers to disclose security vulnerabilities. In 2002, TOOOL formed a US chapter, but it would not gain popularity until several years later.
Though locksport competitions were usually an event at many US security conferences, it wasn't until 2005 that a serious locksport group was created. Locksport International (LSI) was founded by Josh Nekrep, Kim Bohnet, and Devon McDormand in 2005. The publishing of bumping vulnerabilities was around the same time, and the popularity of locksport started to increase. In 2006, Eric Michaud, Babk Javadi, Eric Schmeidl, and Schyuler Towne formed TOOOL US.
Legal Issues
The practice of lockpicking is generally legal if you own the lock being picked or have the permission of its owner. Possession, creation, and distribution of tools may not be, depending on where the group is located. See the legal issues page for more information.
Most groups state their unwillingness to associate with or assist unscrupulous individuals. Locksport groups encourage learning and entertainment rather than criminal activity. The level of skill and training required for lockpicking deters most criminals from joining locksport groups. In addition, most locksport group members are vigilant in watching for people with malicious intent. Some groups go as far as requiring all new members to be introduced by existing members. One such group is TOOOL (European branch only).
Industry Impact
Many locksport groups have had a positive impact on the lock industry by disclosing (publicly and privately) vulnerability information to manufacturers. While many locksmith organizations frown upon this practice, disclosure has led to improved designs of many locks and increased consumer awareness of the security risks present in certain locks.
Locksport Competitions
- Lockcon (formerly The Dutch Open)
- DEFCON, various
- HOPE, various
- Gringo Warrior
Locksport Groups
United States:
- Locksport International (LSI)
- The Open Organization of Lockpickers (TOOOL US)
- The Fraternal Order of Locksport (FOOOL)
Canada:
Europe:
- Sportsfreunde der Sperrtechnik - Deutschland e.V. (Sport Enthusiasts of Lockpicking/SSDEV)
- The Open Organization of Lockpickers (TOOOL NL)
- Lockpicking Sport Comuninidad Hispana
- Lockpicking in France
- Lockpicking i zabezpieczenia (?)
- OpenLocks Österreich (?)
- Schlösser picken als Schweizer Sport (?)
