I’ve never been that much into lock-picking myself, never quite got too excited by the subject.
Until I’ve seen this guy and his awesome presentation.
You feel like taking the tools and start practicing on your front door after seeing this. Or on your neighbors door, depending on your preferences and where you want to spend the night. You have to admit that Mr. Towne has a special gift and is a true showman.
Nevertheless, this is a perfect example of what hacking was originally supposed to mean, understanding (and exploiting) what happens inside a black box from a technical perspective. And even though it’s not related to InfoSec, it’s the perfect example for to describe hacking to non-technical people.
Doing some more research about Schuyler Towne, I found out that he initiated a Kickstarter project to create custom lockpicks designed by a competitive lockpicker to bring “Open Locksport” to market. Awesome.
The only problem is that he failed to deliver the tools, and according to Wikipedia It was later revealed that Towne had been using the Kickstarter funds for his own purposes. These expenditures have included things such as travel and living expenses, car insurance and repairs, computer hardware and other undisclosed expenses. Towne also used the funds to take his family on a holiday and purchase a TV. A number of supporters have subsequently taken over the Kickstarter projects with initial picks out for delivery. However, as of 2014, the majority of orders have still not been filled.
🙂 Isn’t that funny? He’s now paying back from his salary and speaking fees. He looks like the kind of lunatic you wouldn’t land your money to but nevertheless a very funny and awesome lunatic.