Via Boing Boing comes a link to the paper “Safecracking for the computer scientist” (PDF) by Matt Blaze. This has caused some consternation within the locksmithing industry, but I don’t really see why – anyone who has read Richard Feynman’s brilliant “Surely you are joking, Mr. Feynman!” know how to pick locks already. And believe me, it works even on a standard key lock, as I found out having locked myself out of the house one day, having to diddle the lock with a screwdriver and a bent paper clip. It is actually surprisingly easy, and most toolsmiths should be ashamed of themselves, mostly for making products of so low precision that you easily can detect the wheel imperfections.
Security by obscurity, indeed.