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]
| LockPickingLawyer | ||||||||||
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| YouTube information | ||||||||||
| Channel | ||||||||||
| Years active | 2015–present | |||||||||
| Genre | Lockpicking | |||||||||
| Subscribers | 4.53 million[1] | |||||||||
| Total views | 1.157 billion[1] | |||||||||
| Website | covertinstruments | |||||||||
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Last updated: October 16th, 2024 | ||||||||||
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]
YouTube
editThe 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]
Personal life
editLockPickingLawyer 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]
References
edit- ^ a b "About LockPickingLawyer". YouTube.
- ^ Smith, Ernie (July 26, 2021). "What's the Deal With That Security Slot on Your Laptop, Anyway?". Vice. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
- ^ a b "About The Designers". Covert Instruments. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
- ^ "The Best Bike Lock". The New York Times. September 13, 2021. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
- ^ "LockPickingLawyer: Wie ein Anwalt auch ohne Schlüssel fast jedes Schloss öffnet". Steiger Legal (in German). May 7, 2019. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
- ^ Maus, Jonathan (December 12, 2018). ""Cut in 2 seconds!" Is the Ottolock really that easy to snip?". BikePortland.org. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
- ^ "That's Scary; YouTuber Show How Easy It Is To Unlock Your Car With Special Tool Sold Online". Carscoops. July 11, 2021. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
- ^ Frauenfelder, Mark (August 12, 2020). "The Lockpicking Lawyer makes a monkey out of a locksmith". Boing Boing. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
- ^ Nisa, Jannat Un (December 8, 2020). "Youtuber Designs An Unpickable Lock, Dares LockSmiths To Break It Open". Wonderful Engineering. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
- ^ Maus, Jonathan (May 29, 2019). "Company responds to YouTuber who (once again) cuts through bicycle lock". BikePortland.org. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
- ^ Faulkner, Cameron (August 7, 2019). "SimpliSafe's home security system can be compromised by a $2 wireless emitter". The Verge. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
- ^ updated, Hamish Hector last (November 2, 2022). "Level responds to lock picker opening its $330 Apple Store lock in seconds". TechRadar. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
- ^ TWO Unpickable (?) Locks for Lock Picking Lawyer!, retrieved August 10, 2023
- ^ [1299] Unpickable Locks From Stuff Made Here, retrieved August 10, 2023
- ^ "SAINTCON 2021: Keynote Address". saintcon2021.sched.com. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
- ^ "Interview with the Lock Picking Lawyer". Art of Lock Picking. June 6, 2017. Retrieved November 11, 2021.