LockPickingLawyer explained

LockPickingLawyer
Channel Direct Url:lockpickinglawyer
Channel Display Name:LockPickingLawyer
Years Active:2015 - present
Genre:Lockpicking
Subscribers:4.48 million
Views:1.142 billion
Stats Update:May 20th, 2024
Silver Button:y
Silver Year:2018
Gold Button:y
Gold Year:2019

LockPickingLawyer is an American YouTuber known for picking various locks on camera, and reviewing their effectiveness while pointing out security flaws. As of May 2023, the channel has over four million subscribers.[1]

He works with lock manufacturers to improve the security of their devices.[2] He also sells the tools he uses through his own company, Covert Instruments.[3]

YouTube

The LockPickingLawyer YouTube channel was started in 2015.[4] In 2018, the channel attracted attention after posting a video of a bicycle lock being cut open in two seconds.[5] Other videos include picking a car lock, though it is noted that the methods used are not capable of starting the car.[6] The channel also accepts challenges sent in by viewers.[7] [8]

Manufacturers have responded to his videos in the past.[9] [10] In October 2022, LockPickingLawyer released a video reviewing the security effectiveness of the Level Lock+, a smart lock with Apple Home Key support that was exclusively sold through the Apple Store for $329. He was able to break through the lock using "low-skill attacks", causing Level to issue a statement defending its "BHMA AAA rating" and claiming that "lock picking accounts for only 4% of home break incidents".[11]

In 2021, fellow YouTuber Stuff Made Here designed two "unpickable" custom locks, and sent them to LockPickingLawyer as a challenge. In a response video, LockPickingLawyer picked the first lock in exactly 60 seconds, and the second lock in 52 seconds using pliers and a mallet.

On October 19, 2021, he was a keynote speaker at the security conference SAINTCON 2021, where he lambasted locksmiths' complacency and reliance on security through obscurity.[12]

Personal life

LockPickingLawyer remains anonymous, though he has revealed that for 15 years he was a business litigator based in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.[13] He has since retired from practicing law to focus on his YouTube channel.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Smith. Ernie. 2021-07-26. What's the Deal With That Security Slot on Your Laptop, Anyway?. 2021-11-11. Vice. en.
  2. Web site: About The Designers . 2021-11-11 . Covert Instruments . en.
  3. News: 2021-09-13 . The Best Bike Lock . en-US . The New York Times . 2021-11-11 . 0362-4331.
  4. Web site: 2019-05-07. LockPickingLawyer: Wie ein Anwalt auch ohne Schlüssel fast jedes Schloss öffnet. 2021-11-11. Steiger Legal. de-DE.
  5. Web site: Maus. Jonathan. 2018-12-12. "Cut in 2 seconds!" Is the Ottolock really that easy to snip?. 2021-11-11. BikePortland.org. en-US.
  6. Web site: 2021-07-11. That's Scary; YouTuber Show How Easy It Is To Unlock Your Car With Special Tool Sold Online. 2021-11-11. Carscoops. en-US.
  7. Web site: Frauenfelder. Mark. 2020-08-12. The Lockpicking Lawyer makes a monkey out of a locksmith. 2021-11-11. Boing Boing. en-US.
  8. Web site: Nisa. Jannat Un. 2020-12-08. Youtuber Designs An Unpickable Lock, Dares LockSmiths To Break It Open. 2021-11-11. Wonderful Engineering. en-US.
  9. Web site: Maus. Jonathan. 2019-05-29. Company responds to YouTuber who (once again) cuts through bicycle lock. 2021-11-11. BikePortland.org. en-US.
  10. Web site: Faulkner. Cameron. 2019-08-07. SimpliSafe's home security system can be compromised by a $2 wireless emitter. 2021-11-11. The Verge. en.
  11. Web site: updated . Hamish Hector last . 2022-11-02 . Level responds to lock picker opening its $330 Apple Store lock in seconds . 2023-08-10 . TechRadar . en.
  12. Web site: SAINTCON 2021: Keynote Address . 2022-01-09 . saintcon2021.sched.com.
  13. Web site: 2017-06-06. Interview with the Lock Picking Lawyer. 2021-11-11. Art of Lock Picking. en-US.