14 DAY TRIAL // Hacker Samy Kamkar has built a device that can open Master Lock combination padlocks in less than 30 seconds, taking advantage of a vulnerability in the locking system he disclosed towards the end of April.
A couple of weeks ago, the hacker published complete details on a manual approach for cracking the Master Lock in eight or less attempts, with the help of an online tool he created that can determine the full combination based on resistance points when turning the dial.
Fast, automated unlocking of Master Lock
On Thursday, the hacker showed how anyone can build an electronic device Kamkar calls Combo Breaker, that can achieve the same result much faster.
The total expense for the parts needed for the project is less than $100 / €88, and a 3D printer is required for making components that attach to the padlock and rotate the dial.
The list of components includes a stepper motor, a stepper driver and an Arduino Nano, which was programmed to control the automatic turn of the dial.
Kamkar built both a simpler and an advanced version of Combo Breaker that does not require any manual intervention for opening the lock.
The hacker says that the simplified edition is quite efficient and takes under two seconds per combination to crack the lock.
Full details about the project, the source code behind it and the necessary 3D models are available at the hacker’s online spot.
Manual method is more tedious, but successful, nonetheless
Learning the combination for this type of locks can be done manually and no advanced skills are required. The method relies on finding certain resistance points while the dial is rotated and entering the values into the online calculator developed by Kamkar.
Initially, only the first number of the “password” is identified correctly, and two possible variants for the third one are provided. Fiddling with the dial some more should help find which of the two is the right one.
Once this information is learned, the list of possibilities for the second number decreases to only eight choices, which have to be tried one by one.
Kamkar made a video detailing the process of building Combo Breaker. You can watch it below.
