Smart locks: what they are, how they work ?

Smart locks: what they are, how they work

Smart locks – In good old space TV shows like Star Trek, people weren’t paranoid at all. Why? They all used smart locks. The hero approaches the door – and it opens. Right through the sci-fi counterpart of Face ID. Now smart locks already exist and work. We tell you more about the types of smart locks, pitfalls and specific devices.

A lock and a key are needed to keep honest people out of your house.

When it comes to smart locks, many switch to the mode of complete distrust of the new technology. The iron door and the iron key remain infallible security for our man. Meanwhile, an ordinary lock does not guarantee it.

A skilled burglar opens a lock with a pick in 10 minutes.

In practice, the criminal is not even interested in the door, but in the plastic window or balcony on the lower floors, because they are easy to open from the outside. in 2018, 1.5 thousand burglaries were recorded. Dangerous districts – Southern, Eastern, North-Eastern. A dangerous time is summer and New Year holidays, when the owners are not at home. There is a positive trend: since 2016, there has been a decline in registered burglaries in the capital. However, they happen, and ten mechanical locks on the door do not save use Smart locks.

A smart lock differs only in the way it interacts with the locking mechanism and the deadbolt. Instead of a physical key, there is an electronic filling and a motor. Instead of turning the key, enter a code, put your finger on the scanner, or press a button in the app. Comfortable.

But what about the possibility of a hacker breaking the lock?

She really is. In 2016, security specialist presented a paper at the Deacon conference on how he bought 16 smart locks from Amazon and cracked 12 of them using fizzing, spoofing and password guessing. Sometimes something worse happens: a company releases an update that turns a smart lock into a regular one.

Imagine what it would be like if for thousands of years we used a technology known to be insecure with a well-known method of hacking. For example, a lock that opens with a master key, a crowbar, a hairpin, a good blow, and so on. A device that protects property all over the planet.

A ticking bomb indicator Smart locks

Humor aside, A professor summed it up best. By replacing an ordinary lock with a smart one, we change a set of risks for others, but at the same time we gain convenience.