Locksmiths now must face the way the Internet likes to expose everything that someone wants to be kept secret — or as Stewart Brand put it, “Information wants to be free.” He was referring to its value, but the other definition of ‘free’ is appropriate here.
Written by Slate’s tech columnist, Farhad Manjoo, and available in podcast form as the Daily Podcast from July 23rd:
Locksmiths and lock manufactures have found themselves in a jam. The skills of their trade, passed down through generations under conditions of occult secrecy, have been jimmied open online (subscription required). The professionals are crying foul over enthusiasts of “locksport”—amateur lock pickers who congregate on the Web to discuss how to pick locks. The amateurs do this for fun, not mischief, they say; there’s a sublime thrill in charming a deadbolt to turn your way. And they argue that by finding and publishing flaws in some of the most popular locks on the market—from the locks you’ve got on your front door to those the president has on his—they’re forcing improvements in security. Lock professionals say the opposite is true: that in showing people how to pick locks, hobbyists are swinging your doors wide open to criminals.
