Diebold makes electronic voting systems. In fact they make a lot of electronic voting systems! They advertise “Over 130,000 Diebold electronic voting stations are being used in locations across the United States to assist voters in exercising their most fundamental constitutional right: the right to vote.” With the 2000 and 2004 elections being shrouded in [...]
Contrary to widespread myth, it is not a felony to possess lockpicks. Each state has its own laws with respect to such burglarious instruments. Here is the Massacusetts version quoted in entirety from the massachusetts general code:
Chapter 266 [...]
This appendix describes the design and construction of lock picking tools.
A.1 Pick Shapes
Picks come in several shapes and sizes. Figure A.1 shows the most common shapes. The handle and tang of a pick are the same for all picks. The handle must be comfortable and the tang must be thin enough to avoid bumping pins [...]
Lock picking is a craft, not a science. This document presents the knowledge and skills that are essential to lock picking, but more importantly it provides you with models and exercises that will help you study locks on your own. To excel at lock picking, You must practice and develop a style which fits you [...]
Real locks have a wide range of mechanical features and defects that help and hinder lock picking. If a lock doesn’t respond to scrubbing, then it probably has one of the traits discussed in this chapter. To open the lock, you must diagnose the trait and apply the recommended technique. The exercises will help you [...]
This chapter presents a series of exercises that will help you learn the basic skill of lock picking. Some exercises teach a single skill, while others stress the coordination of skills.
When you do these exercises, focus on the skills, not on opening the lock. If you focus on opening the lock, you will get frustrated [...]
Simple lock picking is a trade that anyone can learn. However, advanced lock picking is a craft that requires mechanical sensitivity, physical dexterity, visual concentration and analytic thinking. If you strive to excel at lock picking, you will grow in many ways.
7.1 Mechanical Skills
Learning how to pull the pick over the pins is surprisingly difficult. [...]
At home you can take your time picking a lock, but in the field, speed is always essential. This chapter presents a lock picking technique called scrubbing that can quickly open most locks.
The slow step in basic picking (chapter 4) is locating the pin which is binding the most. The force diagram (Figure 5.5) developed [...]
The flatland model of locks can explain effects that involvs more than one pin, but a different model is needed to explain the detailed behavior of a single pin. See Figure 5.1. The pin-column model highlights the relationship between the torque applied and the amount of force needed to lift each pin. It is essential [...]
The flatland model highlights the basic defect that enables lock picking to work. This defect makes it possible to open a lock by lifting the pins one at a time, and thus you don’t need a key to lift all the pins at the same time. Figure 4.1-4.3 shows how the pins of a lock [...]
In order to become good at picking locks, you will need a detailed understanding of how locks works and what happens as it is picked. This document uses two models to help you understand the behavior of locks. This chapter presents a model that highlights interactions between pin positions. Chapter 4 uses this model to [...]
This chapter presents the basic workings of pin tumbler locks, and the vocabulary used in the rest of this booklet. The terms used to describe locks and lock parts vary from manufacture to manufacture and from city to city, so even if you already understand the basic workings of locks, you should look at figure [...]
The big secret of lock picking is that it’s easy. Anyone can learn how to pick locks.
The theory of lock picking is the theory of exploiting mechanical defects. There are a few basic concepts and definitions but the bulk of the material consists of tricks for opening locks with particular defects or characteristics. The [...]
Executive Summary:
The MIT Hacking community is saddened by the series of recent events which have made the “MIT Guide To Lockpicking” available electronically in a indiscriminate fashion. We would like to state, once again, that we believe such distribution is inappropriate. Since we clearly have no control over the guide’s dissemination, we would, [...]
Distribution
Copyright 1987, 1991 Theodore T. Tool. All rights reserved.
Permission to reproduce this document on a non-profit basis is granted provided that this copyright and distribution notice is included in full. The information in this booklet is provided for educational purposes only.
August 1991 revision.
The MIT Hackning community’s opinion.
Contents
1 It’s Easy
2 How a Key Opens a Lock
3 [...]
