Safecracking
Safecracking
Safecracking is the art of opening a safe without the proper key or combination. The process may be either non-destructive or destructive depending on the techniques used. Safecracking is commonly associated with combination safes, but it includes non-combination locks, as well. Opening safes via safecracking is frequently used by Locksmiths and locksport enthusiasts.
History
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Non-Destructive Safecracking
Most non-destructive safecracking focuses on defeating the lock on the safe, either through manipulation or bypass. Manipulation may take the form of lockpicking, impressioning, or decoding. Because of the popularity of combination locks, manipulation is most commonly associated with decoding of the combination through touch and sound.
Manipulation
- Please also see Lockpicking, Impressioning, and Decoding.
Manipulation of combination safes involves using sight, touch, and (to a lesser extent) hearing to determine the correct combination to open the safe. The process involves diagnostic tests using the safe dial to assess the correct position of each wheel within the lock. Because manipulation simulates the normal action of the combination lock it is considered surreptitious entry.
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Auto-dialers
Auto-dialers (or robot dialers) are computer controlled machines that brute-force the combination of a safe. Auto-dialers may either test the entire set of possible combinations or take into account the tolerances of the lock to reduce the search space dramatically. Auto dialers may also test factory default or predictable combinations given the model of the lock and personal information of the owner(s). Auto-dialers are generally considered surreptitious, but the mounting of the device onto the safe dial may leave forensic evidence.
Vibration
Vibration is applied to the dial of a combination lock to force the wheel gates to slowly rotate to the proper position. This occurs because of the weight difference between the wheel and the gate. Vibration quickly became problematic on military naval vessels where vibration was a natural part of the environment. Most modern combination safes are now designed so that wheels are properly weighted to prevent this attack.
Radiological
Radiological safecracking focuses on using special tools and devices to view the safe in various methods not normally discernable by the human eye. Radiological attacks are generally surreptitious entry techniques unless easily detectable forensic evidence is left behind.
Penetrating radiation (beta ray, gamma ray, neutron beam, ultrasound, X-ray) is used to reveal the correct positions of internal components. This approach is most commonly used to find the correct position of wheels in a combination lock. Wheel made of low density materials, such as nylon or polyoxymethylene (Delrin), are used to frustrate this kind of attack.
Thermal and ultra-violet imaging is used against push-button or keypad based combination safes to reveal heat/UV residue on points recently touched by an authorized user. While this technique may not directly reveal the combination, it can drastically reduce the search space to a handful of potential combinations.
Destructive Safecracking
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Safecracking in the Media
Safecracking is frequently portrayed in television shows, films, and literature. As with lockpicking, the tools or techniques used are often inaccurate. Namely, the use of a stethoscope, or counting the number of clicks made by dial rotation.
Television:
- Mythbusters
Films:
- Bad Santa
- Blue Streak
- Brainiac
- Die Hard
- Heat
- Hudson Hawk
- Killing Zoe
- Ocean's Eleven
- On Her Majesty's Secret Service
- Safe Men
- Short Circuit 2
- Small Time Crooks
- The Bank Job
- The Italian Job
- The Ladykillers
- The Newton Boys
- The Score
- Thief
- Thunderbolt and Lightfoot
- Vabank
- You Only Live Twice
Literature:
- A Retrieved Reformation, O. Henry (1909) 1
- Cryptonomicon, Neal Stephenson (1999)
Safecracking in the News
- WIRED Magazine, The Untold Story of the World's Biggest Diamond Heist. 1
