After watching the Myth Busters' video on hacking into the fingerprint scanner, I thought, if that isn't very secure.. how secure are our dorm rooms? After researching online... I found out they aren't secure at all.
First of all, we all know that if we forget our ID, there is always someone to let us into the main door of the dorm, so not very secure.
Second I looked up how secure door locks are, assuming we take the next step and lock our individual door, it still isn't very secure.
If you consider a door lock as a technology, it basically works like this. Inside the lock are pins that move when the correct key is placed inside the lock. The key has different sized ridges so that it may slide over the pins and moves only the correct pins which allows the bolt to move, thus unlocking the door.
The security goals of the lock is obviously to keep everyone but the correct key owner out of the room. We only want one type of key to work per lock, and when we use the correct key we expect it to open the door.
Known ways an attacker could get in, could be to physically take the correct key from us and use it. However they don't even have to do that. There is a certain key that when combined with the correct technique, will open just about any door. This key is called a bump key and is easy to make. A bump key is a key in which each ridge is cut to the lowest setting, meaning it doesn't matter which pin needs to move to unlock the lock, since the bump key is capable of moving a pin in any setting. In order to open the door, you slide the bump key all the way in, pull it out one notch and then hit the end of the key(bump the key) and the door will unlock if performed correctly. PLUS there are a million youtube videos on how to do this and how to make the bump key. Here is one example http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwTVBWCijEQ
So what do we do now, since anyone could use a bump key to get into our room? Some experts say that some locks are now made to prevent against the bump key. Others say that in conjunction with an alarm system, your security increases. (ref. following video)
Here is a video that appeared on the news addressing this question:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hr23tpWX8lM
Since we have no control over the types of locks the university uses, and we can't have personal alarm systems, in order to protect your stuff here are my solutions: make friends who watch your room and lock up valuables inside your room.
Is this really a problem at ND? I think it is a very minimal concern since there are always people in the dorm and it would be hard to do this unnoticed. Also I think that campus is generally very safe. However, I think this is an important security issue to think about once we graduate and own our own homes.
Friday, September 12, 2008
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This is crazy! In Badin, our rector is always stressing the importance of safety and not letting people in that we do not know. She has always been paranoid but more so since that theft ring based out of Granger was on campus last year.
ReplyDeleteIn case y'all don't remember, people came to campus dressed as maintenance workers and knocked on doors saying they had to fix something. When people let them into the dorms, they went around taking laptops and money.
My rector says that if people really need to get into the dorm and fix something, they will already have access. But after learning about this "bump key," it appears that anyone could get into the dorms. Also, people lose their IDs on the quad all the time (i'm guilty of this)--it's so easy to pick them up and swipe into a dorm.
After all of this, my question is this: are Notre Dame doors accessible using a bump key? Also, are people able to make fake ID cards? I know they are useless outside of campus and no one would ever do it unless they were targeting ND. I'm just curious to see if people went to great lengths to steal from ND students, would they have the ability to do so?
That’s crazy. Last year in Knott hall people had Xboxes and PS3 gaming systems stolen from their room. by people just dressed in regular clothes. All this happened on the day people were moving in.
ReplyDeleteWith this being a huge concern, how could we best secure our university and make things a little safer than they already are. I know there were a few times when people would run up behind you and say hold the door but you let it close. How do we let them in without being ignorant about it?
Since I transferred to ND after my freshman year (from St. Louis University), I've had the opportunity to see two kinds of dorm security systems, and I was really surprised with Notre Dame's at first.
ReplyDeleteWhen comparing the two, ND obviously uses 2-factor security: ID Card (something you have) and your PIN (something you know), but other than that it is incredibly easy to get into a dorm, especially when you think that all those security measure are meaningless if you encounter nice people who just hold the doors open for people behind them.
At SLU, they only have 1 factor security, with ID cards, but they also have either a security guard or R.A. at a front desk 24/7. Also, guests have to sign in and out and leave an ID with the front guard. With this system, they can tell what guests are in the building at all times because they have to check in and out, and they withhold the guest's ID when they're inside the dorm.
Both systems have their upsides and downsides, with a 24 hour staff costing money and staff resources (SLU), but no staff lacking the ability to keep track of guests unless the honor system is inplace (ND) which is bound to be abused.
...though I've found at both schools I've attended, the kids complain about any system of security for the dorm they live in