SECUR> Master Key Copying Revealed

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Master Key Copying Revealed
January 23, 2003
By JOHN SCHWARTZ
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/23/business/23LOCK.html?ex=1044308110&ei=1&en=4b5d4b137704d7ca>

A security researcher has revealed a little-known
vulnerability in many locks that lets a person create a
copy of the master key for an entire building by starting
with any key from that building.

The researcher, Matt Blaze of AT&T Labs-Research, found the
vulnerability by applying his area of expertise - the
security flaws that allow hackers to break into computer
networks - to the real-world locks and keys that have been
used for more than a century in office buildings, college
campuses and some residential complexes.

The attack described by Mr. Blaze, which is known by some
locksmiths, leaves no evidence of tampering. It can be used
without resorting to removing the lock and taking it apart
or other suspicious behavior that can give away ordinary
lock pickers.

All that is needed, Mr. Blaze wrote, is access to a key and
to the lock that it opens, as well as a small number of
uncut key blanks and a tool to cut them to the proper
shape. No special skills or tools are required; key-cutting
machines costing hundreds of dollars apiece make the task
easier, but the same results can be achieved with a simple
metal file.

After testing the technique repeatedly against the hardware
from major lock companies, Mr. Blaze wrote, "it required
only a few minutes to carry out, even when using a file to
cut the keys."

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