Optical Lock Foils Thieves

opticsorg writes "A UK inventor has come up with a way to make what is thought to be an unpickable lock. The Optilock contains a bundle of up to six input optical fibers on one side of the lock barrel and a corresponding number of fibers on the other side. When a special key is inserted into the lock, it connects the fibers in a unique routing pattern opening the lock in a fraction of a second. Light then flows around the circuit until the key is removed and the circuit is broken."

Copyright Reference

[4of11]

But if they did pick it, at least they wouldn't be circumventing copyright restrictions. Because that would be terrible.
/obligatory slashdot DMCA reference

Gonna need new equipment...

[BigZaphod]

I guess I'm going to have to find someone selling tiny little prisms now so I can build myself a new lock-pick set...

key of light

[xmple]

idea to "pick" the lock: use a flashlight, and shine it trough the keyhole...

Re:Unpickable?

[rjshields]

I wonder if I could "pick" it with a 14lb lump hammer ;)

Re:Not unpickable

[dman123]

Not only will it take a while for people to learn how to pick it, it will take a while for the lock to even exist...

Quoting the article... "At the moment, the lock is a computer model. This money will allow us to see how these ideas will work and what the devices will actually look like."

Maybe it will be one of those situations where the lockpicks are invented before the vulnerability is found and fixed by the Microsoft, I mean, the manufacturer.

Sneakers

[CyberVenom]

Do any of you remember the old (and surprisingly realistic compared to newer crap) hacker movie "Sneakers"? When they are trying to break into the office to steal the chip, Redford comes to a door with an electronic lock. After getting an earful of explanation (which we don't hear) from his partner back in the van about how the military deals with that kind of lock, he agrees to try a new lockpicking method. He kicks the door, and the bolt pops out of the doorjam...

Onion headline

[heldlikesound]

"Optical sledgehammer opens optical lock."

Re:Unpickable proof??

[Knetzar]

"Me fail English, that's unpossible"

Thinking too hard

[macemoneta]

You folks are thinking too hard. You need a low tech solution, that a burglar with a third grade education would use. :-)

Just put a little graphite-oil (used in regular locks) in the optical lock. Then, when the owner tears it out because it doesn't work (optical paths obscured by the graphite), the burglars can go back to business as usual.

Re:Unpickable, huh?

[Lars T.]

...Unless you figure out a way to change the time.

Yeah, MacGyver did that all the time.

Re:Unpickable?

[Anonymous Coward]

You can smash your windows yourself, you know :)