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Comment by jpalomaki | Hacker News Reader

Slightly related to this, the Lock Picking Lawyer on Youtube has number of videos where he tries a Ramset gun [1] against different padlocks. For example:

https://youtu.be/Wimo09WV-rY

This was interesting as it was an attack that certainly would not have crossed my mind. Would be interesting to see how other types of locks would do against this kind of tool.

[1] https://www.homedepot.com/p/Ramset-MasterShot-0-22-Caliber-P...

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His most unusual attack may have been using Gallium to break the aluminum body of a lock:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeghGhVdt9s

His magnetic attack[1] on a common commercial lock that's no longer in use was entertaining too.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCay5ek_cW0

What? No longer in use? Those things are still widely in use in many mid century and older education and healthcare buildings around NYC.

I assume this specific model is no longer in use. Sorry, I should've been more clear.

From his comments, I don't believe the vulnerable ones are still out there. But, maybe they are.

He mentions the mech was changed in 2011, mentions there’s a probably little used retrofit and at the end of the video he comments that there are likely many compromised ones still out there.

Which is pretty expected if you've seen how buildings are maintained in general. I haven’t encountered a lock that doesn’t have this vulnerability in any 20th century post-war nyc building.

Yes they are still around!

The lock is still in use but the vulnerability has been fixed in newer models and older models can be fixed by a part kit.

Oh, interesting. I thought most of them had been replaced with the newer versions. I didn't know about the replacement kit. Now that you mention it, I guess LPL might've said something about it in his video (which I didn't re-watch, oops!).

Thanks! Very informative!

Thanks for an LPL reference!

Speaking of "smartlocks": here’s one that doesn’t even need a drill: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeCGTosv-_c

Edit: and another one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGpMaShltbc

That looked like a pretty heavy duty lock, but as a kid I learned that a hammer or smashing a lock against the ground works most of the time.

In something like a shipping container the actual lock is shielded away from these types of attacks by the container itself.

Yes, but according to LockpickingLawyer they are still vulnerable to prybar-leverage attacks.

I have to tip my hat to LockpickingLawyer for introducing me to hydraulic bolt cutters. The perfect solution to the noisy angle grinder.

Interesting - I do wonder how well that attack would work in a normal use setting where it could become much harder to brace the lock against something.

I suspect you can find a way to brace them in many circumstances, some of the common bicycle theft techniques are pretty constrained. The down side of this method for a thief is that they look very much like a handgun for obvious reasons. That ups the chance that a quick theft escalates to gunfire if you're interrupted by the police, armed security, or an armed home owner or bystander. Cops are a lot more likely to shoot you if they think they saw a gun.

He's got a couple of videos using it in different ways and it doesn't look like it would be too difficult to brace a lock in some way to use it, like using the tension in the chain or hasp it hangs from. But you're right, in some circumstances it probably would work. Seems dangerous though, both in debris flying off and even more so since it looks like a gun.

"since it looks like a gun"

There are models that don't.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Ramset-HammerShot-0-22-Caliber-S...

It basically is a gun though

"this technology relies on a controlled explosion created by a small chemical propellant charge, similar to the process that discharges a firearm"

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powder-actuated_tool

I don't see the point though. Isn't this precisely what bolt cutters are to be used for?

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