LockPickingLawyer | ||||||||||
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YouTube information | ||||||||||
Channel | ||||||||||
Years active | 2015–present | |||||||||
Genre | Lockpicking | |||||||||
Subscribers | 4.48 million [1] | |||||||||
Total views | 1.142 billion [1] | |||||||||
Website | covertinstruments | |||||||||
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Last updated: May 20th, 2024 |
LockPickingLawyer is an American YouTuber known for picking various locks on camera, and reviewing their effectiveness while pointing out security flaws. As of May 2023, the channel has over four million subscribers. [2]
He works with lock manufacturers to improve the security of their devices. [3] He also sells the tools he uses through his own company, Covert Instruments. [4]
The LockPickingLawyer YouTube channel was started in 2015. [5] In 2018, the channel attracted attention after posting a video of a bicycle lock being cut open in two seconds. [6] Other videos include picking a car lock, though it is noted that the methods used are not capable of starting the car. [7] The channel also accepts challenges sent in by viewers. [8] [9]
Manufacturers have responded to his videos in the past. [10] [11] In October 2022, LockPickingLawyer released a video reviewing the security effectiveness of the Level Lock+, a smart lock with Apple Home Key support that was exclusively sold through the Apple Store for $329. He was able to break through the lock using "low-skill attacks", causing Level to issue a statement defending its "BHMA AAA rating" and claiming that "lock picking accounts for only 4% of home break incidents". [12]
In 2021, fellow YouTuber Stuff Made Here designed two "unpickable" custom locks, and sent them to LockPickingLawyer as a challenge. [13] In a response video, LockPickingLawyer picked the first lock in exactly 60 seconds, and the second lock in 52 seconds using pliers and a mallet. [14]
On October 19, 2021, he was a keynote speaker at the security conference SAINTCON 2021, where he lambasted locksmiths' complacency and reliance on security through obscurity. [15]
LockPickingLawyer remains anonymous, though he has revealed that for 15 years he was a business litigator based in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. [16] He has since retired from practicing law to focus on his YouTube channel. [3]
Locksmithing is the science and art of making and defeating locks. Locksmithing is a traditional trade and in many countries requires completion of an apprenticeship. The level of formal education legally required varies from country to country from none at all, to a simple training certificate awarded by an employer, to a full diploma from an engineering college, in addition to time spent working as an apprentice.
Lock picking is the practice of unlocking a lock by manipulating the components of the lock device without the original key.
The pin tumbler lock, also known as the Yale lock after the inventor of the modern version, is a lock mechanism that uses pins of varying lengths to prevent the lock from opening without the correct key.
A lock is a mechanical or electronic fastening device that is released by a physical object, by supplying secret information, by a combination thereof, or it may only be able to be opened from one side, such as a door chain.
A lever tumbler lock is a type of lock that uses a set of levers to prevent the bolt from moving in the lock. In the simplest form of these, lifting the tumbler above a certain height will allow the bolt to slide past.
A Chubb detector lock is a lever tumbler lock with an integral security feature, a re-locking device, which frustrates unauthorised access attempts and indicates to the lock's owner that it has been interfered with. When someone tries to pick the lock or to open it using the wrong key, the lock is designed to jam in a locked state until either a special regulator key or the original key is inserted and turned in a different direction. This alerts the owner to the fact that the lock has been tampered with.
Safe-cracking is the process of opening a safe without either the combination or the key.
Tots TV is a British children's television programme, produced by Ragdoll Productions and Central. The series was first telecast in the UK on the ITV network from 1993 to 1998.
A bicycle lock is a security device used to deter bicycle theft, either by simply locking one of the wheels or by fastening the bicycle to a fixed object, e.g., a bike rack.
Ardeshir Burjorji Sorabji Godrej (1868–1936) was an Indian businessman. With his brother Pirojsha Burjorji, he co-founded the Godrej Brothers Company, the precursor of the modern Godrej Group.
Rekeying a lock is replacing the old lock pins with new lock pins.
Lock bumping is a lock picking technique for opening a pin tumbler lock using a specially crafted bump key, rapping key or 999 key. A bump key must correspond to the target lock in order to function correctly.
ALOA Security Professionals Association is an American trade organization for locksmiths and other physical security professionals. The organization represents more than 6,000 locksmiths in the United States, Canada, and other countries, making it the largest association of its sort in North America, and conducts professional proficiency certifications for its members.
The term protector lock has referred to two unrelated lock designs, one invented in the 1850s by Alfred Hobbs, the other in 1874 by Theodor Kromer.
Locksport is the sport or recreation of defeating locking systems. Its enthusiasts learn a variety of skills including lock picking, lock bumping, and a variety of other skills traditionally known only to locksmiths and other security professionals. Locksport followers enjoy the challenge and excitement of learning to defeat all forms of locks, and often gather together in sport groups to share knowledge, exchange ideas, and participate in a variety of recreational activities and contests.
The Bramah lock was created by Joseph Bramah in 1784. The lock employed the first known high-security design.
The locksmith scam is a scam involving fake business listings for cheap locksmith services that, once called out, overcharge the customer. The scam targets people who call a locksmith out of desperation, usually because of being locked out of their car or premises. Locksmith scams have been reported in the U.S., the U.K., and New Zealand.
This is a glossary of locksmithing terms.
Shane Wighton is an American engineer best known for his YouTube channel, Stuff Made Here, an engineering-focused channel where Wighton builds various creative inventions. Wighton launched the channel in March 2020, and as of August 2024, Stuff Made Here has over 4.5 million subscribers and over 298 million total views. With average views per video exceeding 9 million, the videos are among the most-watched engineering project content on the platform.
Laura Kampf is a German YouTuber, designer, and craftswoman. She refers to herself as a "maker". Her content primarily focuses on DIY build projects.