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Elevator Hacking: From the Pit to the Penthouse

3 videos recommended on HN
YouTube
9 HN users recommended this talk7 months2014–2026 score 9.5
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026

HN commenters call it an absorbing, entertaining deep dive on elevator security and the go-to link whenever elevators come up.

Deviant Ollam's two-hour conference talk explains how elevators work, from the pit and buffers to the car top, controller logic and access-control features. It shows how this knowledge can be used for optimization and for bypassing building security.

“it was so interesting to me that I ended up watching the entire 2 hours in one sitting.” (HN, 2021)

6 strong recommendations · 3 recommendations · 3 citations · 1 jokes · Talks

13 Hacker News comments

From the HN archive; up to 20 kept per video, favoring different commenters. Recommendations first.

@_asummers Apr 2016 Strongly recommends
on HN thread Mosh: the mobile shell
And watch this[0] entire (super entertaining) talk from Hope X about elevator security. You get a pretty good feal for how the safety measures work after watching it. [0] [this video]
Entertaining talk explaining how elevator safety measures work.
@thejenk Jun 2019 Strongly recommends
on HN thread I'll Let Myself In: Tactics of Physical Pen Testers (2017) [video]
Deviant Ollam does another talk with elevator consultant Howard Payne just about elevator security which is fantastic. It's very similar to this one, but goes deeper into the single subject. There are a few versions on YouTube of various lengths, but here's the 2 hour version: [this video]
Deep dive on elevator security with consultant Howard Payne.
@royjacobs Jul 2021 Strongly recommends
on HN thread List of Special Elevator Modes
If you're interested in elevators and the hacking thereof I would also highly recommend this talk: [this video]
Highly recommended talk on elevator hacking.
@mpd Jul 2021 Strongly recommends
on HN thread List of Special Elevator Modes
I ran into [this video] (Elevator Hacking: From the Pit to the Penthouse) awhile back, and it was so interesting to me that I ended up watching the entire 2 hours in one sitting.
Absorbing two-hour talk watched in one sitting.
@nhhvhy Jul 2026 Strongly recommends
on HN thread Elevators
If you feel like going down an elevator rabbithole, Deviant Ollam has quite a few talks/videos about all sorts of niche elevator stuff. My personal favorite: [this video]
Personal favorite among Deviant Ollam's elevator talks.
@lathiat Dec 2018 Recommends
on HN thread Ask HN: Best talks of 2018?
Deviant Ollam - The Hotel Room Gourmet [link] Also not 2018 but his elevator with Howard Payne talk: [link] (1h version) [this video] (2h version) And the search for the perfect door: [link]
Two-hour elevator talk with Howard Payne.
@wolrah Jun 2021 Recommends
on HN thread Elevator Saga – An elevator programming game
Relevant video discussing fire keys and other common keys: [link] And since this thread is about elevators, I have to also mention another video of theirs: [this video]
Related elevator video by the same creators.
@ben_bai Jul 2021 Recommends
on HN thread List of Special Elevator Modes
SimTower started as elevator simulator, and was then turned into a game. Also, this is a great talk if you want to know more about elevators: [this video]
Great talk on elevators.

Citations, criticism and jokes

@maqr Oct 2014 Cites it
on HN thread Rappelling Off a Roof
> After a week of recon I found out that the 4th and 5th floors are only accessible with a very specific card via the elevator. I didn’t have that card. Even if I get to the elevator I could not go to the 5th floor See [this video]
Elevator access-control card restrictions and bypasses.
@djsumdog Dec 2018 Cites it
on HN thread Can Repelling Magnets Replace the Spring in a Pogo Stick?
There was an elevator hacking talk that went into the buffers at the bottom of the elevator. You may have seen them in elevators that have glass on the outside of the shaft like in malls and hotels. The elevator never rests on those. Those are to take the impact of an elevator that crashes. Inspectors will often test the buffers as well as part of routine maintenance: [this video]
Covers elevator buffers at the bottom of the shaft.

Video list and Hacker News comment labels from HackerTube (prompted by @karpathy), released under ODC-By 1.0, built on the open-index/hacker-news archive. Hacker News data is provided by Y Combinator; comments remain the work of their authors. Video titles, channel names and thumbnails belong to their creators and are shown via YouTube. HackerTube Watch is an unofficial edition. Data export of 2026-10-31.

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