5 HN users recommended this talk5 months2018–2021score 5.5
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026
HN recommends it as an entertaining overview of physical pen testing, and cites it when threads discuss how easily doors and locks are bypassed.
Deviant Ollam, head of a physical penetration testing team, presents tactics for getting into buildings, from bypassing door levers with a wire to defeating bank doors. He argues that physical security is often surprisingly weak.
“Deviant Ollam's talks are always first class.” (HN, 2021)
Simple physical penetration testing tactics are easy to learn and apply widely. These skills can be a quick way to have better security awareness, and can be a fun party trick. For example, many of the techniques listed in this (<1hr) video: [this video]
Quick physical pen testing tactics anyone can learn
The internet brings a much bigger attack surface than local people who can reach a front door, and home users access the same openssh as companies do, but companies (can) afford stronger doors. "Most people's home doors can't withstand a hit from a sledgehammer" -> "we shouldn't talk about cryptographic weaknesses in case someone abuses them" is a stretch, the comparison does break down. [1] is a fun YouTube video about physical pen testing; one example at 13:45 in the video, the presenter is walking home from a bar, walks up to a locked high street bank, spits a mouthful of beer through the gap in the doors, triggers the presence sensor on the inside which lets people out, and the door opens and lets him in. [1] [this video]
Fun physical pen testing stories, like beating a bank door
This is nowhere near being viable for real world use. Far more concerning is how easy it is to bypass most physical security measures. Forgetting about how easy it is to pick open most locks, many doors aren't even installed properly in the first place. Check out this YouTube video [0] to see what I'm talking about. [0] [this video]
>Wait, what? I can't find anything about door levers having this kind of security risk. I specifically remember this talk: [this video] at around 18 minutes in he shows one of his employees(?) use a long bit of wire to pull the lever and open the door in a matter of seconds.
All those cabinets use the same key across cities as well! Otherwise FEMA and other services would be unable to function. For the same reason all LEO handcuffs use the same key, so that any officer could release any handcuffed individual. Edit: Some googling for links let me to this video, which seems relevant: I'll Let Myself In: Tactics of Physical Pen Testers [this video]
Going by a presentation from a professional pen tester lock picking is usually far down on their list because there are easier ways to open many doors without picking the lock. [this video] Someone who wants to get in is probably already on his way out while LPL is only halfway through with the lock.
Pen testers say lock picking is rarely the easiest way in
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