Tag: hack

Lock picking for the 21st century

Modern electronic locks are getting more complicated but it’s amazing how vulnerable they can be. The video below shows how a high end electronic lock can be bypassed with a combination of induction and magnetic force.

If you’re not familiar with this type of locks it may not be clear, but the lock is actually being unlocked by spinning a disc with embedded magnets near the motor that actuates the lock. Barry at blackbag offers a far more detailed explanation of the device.

This is a good reminder that if a lock can be opened then it can be picked. The manufacturer will undoubtedly correct this vulnerability but there will always be another way to get in.

via Zach

Mobile Speedpass RFID Hacked

Zach reports that a professor at Johns Hopkins University has successfully been able to read, decrypt and forge Mobile’s Speedpass RFID tag after only a close pass with a reader and laptop.

The Speedpass tag is a small key fob which is linked to a credit or debit card. It can be read at the pump or register by waving the tag near an RFID reader.

Mobile has been quick to point out that this type of tagjacking has yet to be used maliciously, but like Zach I think it naive to consider it more than a matter of time.

Check out Zach’s article for a video from the folks at 20/20.

rfid, hack, tagjacking, speedpass

MAKE Volume 2: More Good Stuff

Make: Vol 2In the gaps between teaching, work, bloging and working on some pet-projects I have finally finished MAKE: Technology On Your Time, Volume 2. Chock full of home entertainment projects, I am yet again impressed with the quality and quantity.

Highlights include HDTV on Your Mac, Atari 2600PC, and instructions on how to build a twitchy little robot out of a computer mouse. I’m glad the magazine only comes out quarterly… I could spend three months working on the projects from just one issue!

While the quality of the projects outlined in MAKE is undeniable, I am finding the true value of the magazine is how it has changed the way I look at things. I can only equate this to when I learned how to pick locks. Once you have picked a Masterlock and a few door locks your attitude toward locked doors changes. What was once a barrier is now a challenge, even one to look forward to.

MAKE has changed the way I view the world. A broken answering machine, old mouse, dead entertainment system, even a cheap Commadore64 direct-to-TV game have taken on a new value. I’ve always been a hacker, never afraid to take the screws out and rewire, but this is going to a whole new level!

More than a book full of projects, MAKE is full of new ways to apply technology, new tools, and true “maker” attitude. The value of MAKE, and it’s true spirit, is realized when you view it not as a bunch of projects and reviews, but as 200 pages of raw information just waiting to see how the reader will put it all together.

Will I build a Lego robot controlled by an audio chip? Podcast a lecture for a class I will be teaching? Perhaps build a desktop linear accelerator to annoy and harm my cube-mates! (just kidding)

Well, one thing is for sure… I’m glad my girlfriend got me a subscription for my birthday. Time to dig into Volume 3. I’m afraid I’ve only got a couple months until Volume 4 will arrive.

For more information on what started this new obsession of mine, check out this article about MAKE, and this retrospective on Volume 1.

make, oreilly, make magazine, hacks, hack, hacker, electronics, electronic, entertainment, technology, electric, home entertainment, diy, do it yourself,