[ale] OT Fwd: Dc404-Chat New smart locks for your home

[Scott Plante]

Although you have to keep things in perspective--given how terribly easy it is to pick most residential key locks, you're probably not losing any security by using one of these things. Also, given how easy it is to kick in a door or break/cut a window, in addition to the lock picking, home door locks mostly serve to keep out the honest and the naughty neighbor kids, and to raise the charge to "breaking and entering" over simple trespass. 

People sometimes complain about the weak locks on the little fire safes--a good lock is no use when you can pick up the entire safe and take it away with you. They just serve to keep the safe closed when the shelf it's on burns and it tumbles to the floor. 

----- Original Message -----

From: "Ron Frazier (ALE)" <atllinuxenthinfo at techstarship.com> 
To: "ALE" <ale at ale.org> 
Sent: Wednesday, June 19, 2013 10:01:59 AM 
Subject: [ale] OT Fwd: Dc404-Chat New smart locks for your home 

Hi Guys, 

I'm cross posting this from the dc-404 group because I thought you'd like to see it. If not, blame me, not Keith. 

Steve Gibson says most anything that merges security with radio waves is a bad idea. I think cheap home rf based locks are a bad idea. Of course, if you pay $ 500, then the developer might go to the trouble to put in fairly air tight security. But, what if you pay $ 50? Then, it's more questionable. Also, the hacker might have to be "fairly" close to capture your signal, but 200 feet away with a directional antenna might be close enough. 

We routinely use garage door openers. I've heard of those rf signals being hijacked, but it's probably not too common. As Keith mentioned, there have been cases lately where thieves are somehow triggering cars to unlock their doors without having the factory key. That's one reason I don't like a proximity based car key. If you have that, they could hack it and not only get in the car, but also start the engine. 

Steve also reported a few months ago about a hack where bad guys could use the tire pressure monitoring system to play with the car's electrical system and potentially cause accidents. 

I don't want to even get started on rf based credit cards. Steve's been reporting on various cases of those being abused again. If I get one of those, I'm sending it back or zapping it in the microwave oven. I wonder if that would destroy the magnetic strip. 

Sincerely, 

Ron 




-------- Original Message -------- 
From: "Watson, Keith" <krwatson at cc.gatech.edu> 
Sent: Wed Jun 19 08:42:15 EDT 2013 
To: "dc404-chat at lists.kaos.to" <dc404-chat at lists.kaos.to> 
Subject: [Dc404-Chat] New smart locks for your home 

When was the last time a new product got security right out the door (pardon the pun)? Hotel keycards and burglars entering cars without a key come to mind. Several of the products practically admitted they aren't secure by basing them on Bluetooth. It is possible to have a secure Bluetooth based product but I can't think of one. 

Your Door Is About to Get Clever: 5 Smart Locks Compared 
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2013/06/smart-locks/ 

http://preview.tinyurl.com/k869hr9 

keith 

-- 

Keith R. Watson Georgia Institute of Technology 
IT Support Professional Lead College of Computing 
keith.watson at cc.gatech.edu 801 Atlantic Drive NW 
(404) 385-7401 Atlanta, GA 30332-0280 


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Ron Frazier 
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