Locksport

Locksport refers to the sport or recreation that aims to defeat 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.

History

Lock picking has been around for as long as locks have, and recreational lock picking has been as well. King Louis XVI of France (1754–1793) was a keen designer, picker and manipulator of locks,^[1] physicist Richard Feynman picked locks for fun in the 1940s while employed on the Manhattan Project. Notes from the MIT Roof and Tunnel Hacking community^[2] were made widely available in 1991 as The MIT Guide to Lock Picking.

However, as an organized hobby, lock picking is a relatively recent phenomenon. The earliest known organized group of lock picking enthusiasts is the German club SSDeV (Sportsfreunde der Sperrtechnik - Deutschland e.V. or, translated Sportsenthusiasts of Lockpicking – Germany). SSDeV was founded by Steffen Wernéry in 1997.^[3] As the group grew in Germany, another group was founded in The Netherlands in 1999. This group, originally called NVHS, and currently called TOOOL (The Open Organisation Of Lockpickers),^[4] has also helped to pioneer the collaborative hobby of lock picking.

The term locksport was adopted by lock picking enthusiasts as a way of differentiating what they do from locksmiths, as well as from those who might choose to pick locks for nefarious purposes. As of early 2005, the term had been suggested, but not widely adopted. The creation of the sport group Locksport International in July 2005, founded by Josh Nekrep, Kim Bohnet, and Devon McDormand of LockPicking101.com, helped to solidify the term within the community, and today the term is widely adopted in North America by those who practice the craft for fun and sport. Locksport International is now under the direction of Doug Farre.^[5][6]

Philosophy

At the core of locksport is the philosophical belief in responsible full disclosure. Locksport enthusiasts target security through obscurity that is common within the locksmith industry, as well as among lock manufacturers. Those who choose to participate in locksport often seek to discover security vulnerabilities and notify lock manufacturers as well as, in some instances, the public, in an effort to promote improvements in the field of physical security and to aid consumers in making better, more informed decisions about their own security.^[7] This philosophy is contradictory to that held by many locksmith organizations,^[8] and locksport enthusiasts have come under attack for releasing information about lesser-known vulnerabilities.^{[citation needed]} Nonetheless, locksport enthusiasts persist in discovering weaknesses in all forms of physical security.

Activities

At locksport meetings, members regularly participate in a variety of activities such as lock challenges, lock relay races, standardized tests, and many other such activities dreamed up by the members themselves.

One such activity is known as the Padlock Challenge, where members each start with a predefined number of padlocks linked together. As participants pick a lock, they attach the lock to the chain of padlocks of another participant. The goal is to be the first to rid oneself of all one's locks.^{[citation needed]} Another common activity is some form of speed challenge, where members are given a limited time to pick a lock, or compete for the best time on one or more locks.

Contests

There are several organized lock picking contests that are held each year. Both SSDeV and TOOOL.NL hold a major contest each year, attended by hobbyists and travelers from around the globe. In North America, contests are held at the Defcon Convention in Las Vegas each year, and the HOPE Convention every second year. Rules and format of contests vary from event to event.

"Locksport fans compete in several formats, including head-to-head contests that determine the fastest lock picker. In the so-called Locksport Wizard, each contestant is given a burlap sack containing an identical set of locks and is required to blindly pick them using only tools they have put in the sack.

In other challenges, participants have to pick their way out of handcuffs before attempting to defeat a set of locks. There also are competitions to disassemble locks and reassemble them properly."^[9]

Conventions

Though there are currently no conventions exclusive to locksport, enthusiasts have found acceptance among a variety of hacker conventions.DEFCON and HOPE are the most notable. At each of these conventions a dedicated area called "The Lock Picking Village" is set up where contests and presentations are held. Here, attendees can learn to pick locks and watch others practice and compete.

Ethics

Because lock picking is sometimes viewed as a nefarious craft, locksport enthusiasts uphold a very rigorous standard of ethics. The credo of locksports has often been described as:

You may only pick locks that you own, or those to which you’ve been given express permission to pick by the rightful owner.

In an effort to keep lock picking skill away from those who would abuse it, members of locksport groups uphold a zero-tolerance for illegal or immoral lock picking, bypass, or other forms of entry.^[10] Though accounts of lock picking being used for crime are statistically very low,^{[citation needed]} locksport enthusiasts feel they must uphold such strict standards to repudiate the often held misconception that they are participating in illegal activities.^[11]

References

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