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| 5/24 |
| 2004/9/16-17 [Transportation/Bicycle] UID:33565 Activity:very high |
9/16 Kryptonite U locks compromised with a Bic pen:
http://www.engadget.com/common/videos/pt/lock.wmv
http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=44611
\_ Do the <>s add anything exceptfor making the URL harder
to cut and paste?
\_ It's meant to separate a URL from other possible
punctuation, e.g. so you can avoid a spurious '.'
on a URL at the end of a sentence.
\_ It also makes URLs with spaces work.
\_ It also makes URLs not show up under Mozilla
when you read the motd with the cgi finger. So
Please don't do it. It's pointless chaff and
you're not demonstrating any '1337 motd url
posting standards compliance with it. Nice link,
though. -John
\_ Nice!
\_ I hope someone doesn't go on campus, pick all the locks of this
kind, swap them among the unlocked bikes, and lock them again.
Especially not during the Finals week.
\_ Why bother swapping? Just buy some cheap locks and put them on
other people's bikes.
\_ I'm too cheap to spend $10 on each bike to mess with.
\_ I'm too cheap to spend $10 on each bike I want to mess with.
\_ http://www.bikebiz.co.uk/daily-news/article.php?id=4637
"was first described in a British bicycle magazine in 1992"
"the Bic-opening method applies to many tubular cylinder u-locks"
\_ So Kryptonite knew about the problem in 1992 but didn't fix it
until 2000?
\_ Yeah, they just stopped offering the "If your bike gets
stolen while you were using a Kryptonite lock, we'll
replace it" gaurantee.
\_ If this were a Bush policy initiative, it would be called
the "Defend America's Bicycles" plan
\_ why do you hate bicycles?
\_ I spent the 15 minutes reading the forum URL.
Basically any cylinder lock (not only from Kryptonite) is
vulnerable to a pen that fits into the cylinder.
Basically many cylinder locks (not only from Kryptonite) are
vulnerable to a pen that fits snugly into the cylinder.
\_ The Kryptonite Co. released this info on the news to create
panic and increase sales for their new line, otherwise
people would have kept their "reliable locks" and have no need
to by the "new high-tech" ones. Nice coincidence that their new
product-line can be made available within a few weeks of this
"discovery" that existed in 1992. Great Marketing Strategy! |
| 5/24 |
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| news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=44611 Subscribe to the Boston Herald Bike lock fiasco creating a buzz in the cycling community By Associated Press Thursday, September 16, 2004 BOSTON - You don't have to be the Man of Steel to open a Kryptonite bike lock. Faster than a speeding bullet, word is flying across the Internet, through cyclers' hangouts and into bike shops that all it takes to open a circular-key lock, like the ones on the famous U-shaped Kryptonite brand locks, is a lowly pen. In recent days, bicycle chat rooms on the Internet have been flooded with irate comments from cyclists, some of whom have posted short movies of themselves picking their own locks with the hollow shaft of a Bic pen. A spokeswoman for the Canton-based company, the country's largest bicycle-lock manufacturer, said it plans to accelerate the introduction of new versions of the lock in response to the complaints. It's been buzzing through the biking community - particularly among bike messengers who covet a reliable lock to prevent the key tools of their trade - their bicycles - from being ripped off. This week, a group of couriers gathered at benches in Boston's Post Office Square quickly rolled their eyes when asked if they knew the trick to picking the bike locks, particularly the U-lock'' design variety. Bike messenger John Anderson, 23, who wears his Kryptonite chain and lock slung around his waist like a heavy-duty belt and buckle when he's on the move, said a friend came down to the park to show how it was done. I was like, 'You've got to be kidding me,''' he said, his truckers' cap pulled down low on his forehead. These locks literally are viewed as the industry standard, the lock that you must have. They're recommended by every bike shop, and people know that if you need a bike lock, you drop 80 bucks on a Kryptonite lock,'' he said. The company maintained that the design still provides an effective deterrent to theft,'' but it was developing new products using a pen-proof, disc-style cylinder. We are accelerating the delivery of the new disc cylinder locks and we will communicate directly with our distributors, dealers and consumers within the coming days. The world just got tougher and so did our locks,'' the company statement said. Kryptonite was acquired in August 2001 by Ingersoll-Rand, maker of other security products such as Schlage door locks. But he takes no pleasure in Kryptonite's woes, and said he shuddered to think of the mischief possible in Boston, with its huge population of students with two-wheeled transportation. It came to me as a shock, because you might have thought that this would be discovered a couple of years ago. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Daisy1029 Thank you cao - we that live in the town of Whitman and love our little town - are all aware of what is going on - including the selectmen, clergy, and other town leaders. |
| www.bikebiz.co.uk/daily-news/article.php?id=4637 u-lock In a bizarre case of coincidental product syncronicity, the plastic barrel of a certain type of biro can easily open a certain type of tubular cylinder locking mechanism, popular on u-locks. This was first described in a British bicycle magazine in 1992 but a US consumer, thinking he's describing something new, has posted a Quicktime movie to a bike bulletin board, showinga Kryptonite lock being popped open in seconds. Kryptonite here responds to the internet-fuelled consumer backlash against its products... The current debate was kicked off by Chris Brennan, a San Francisco bicycle-owning computer security specialist. net on Sunday was seized upon by fellow cyclists as a new and worrying problem. Kryptonite's corporate reputation was dragged through the mud in 450+ posts, despite the fact the Bic-opening method applies to many tubular cylinder u-locks. Posters to the Bikeforum bulletin board were up in arms, threatening to ditch their Kryptonite locks. Some US bike shop owners threatened to pull all Kryptonite stock from their shelves. The owner of City Bikes, in Washington DC, said: "At first I didn't believe it. Then I tried it - wow - there it is - easier than a lock pick. The Bic thing has shaken my faith in any of the tubular cylinder locks, and we are pulling all of them from the shelves until we can figure out which tubular cylinder u-locks can't be defeated with a pen, if any. "We are going to try and get our customers replacement locks ASAP, whatever Kryptonite chooses to do. I have not been impressed with Kryptonite's response or from the postings of people who have talked to them directly. In my mind there is no excuse for losing your bike to a guy with a Bic pen." The locks susceptible to the Bic method are Kryptonite's Kryptolok and Evolution locks. com contacted Kryptonite on Tuesday, the company said it was aware of the Bikeforum debate and wanted 24 hours to formulate a response. It does not include any notice of a product recall or recompense for consumers who own the Kryptonite locks that can be popped with Bics. The company instead says its latest generation of locks do not use tubular cylinders and these will be rushed to the market, ahead of schedule. Kryptonite's New York series of extra-secure u-locks have used disc cylinders, impervious to Bic pens, since 2000. com - teamed up with a Nottingham bike thief to show how easy it was to break in to the majority of bicycle locks then on the market. His article in New Cyclist magazine led to follow-ups in bigger circulation bicycle magazines such as MBUK, and a BBC consumer rights programme also carried a feature on the Bic method. Despite the apparent ease of the method, most bicycle thieves, then and now, prefer swifter, more strong-arm tactics, such as prising locks open with car-jacks. Savvy consumers also use more than one type of lock, thwarting the opportiunist thief only carrying tools for one type of lock-busting. The Bic method has therefore been known about for some time (begging the question why it was never foiled by lock manufacturers) but it soon disappeared from public view, until last week's posting by Brennan. The immediacy of the internet, coupled with the opportunity to post movies, enabled Brennan to spread his message quickly. net couldn't crack into their locks using the Bic method, many others could and Quicktime movies started spreading around the world like wildfire. MPG Kryptonite, understandably, is worried at the damage to its reputation but the US company wants to make it clear it's not just Kryptonite products at fault. An article on Kryptonite's woes by an Associated Press writer is now being syndicated to US newspapers. The writer missed the fact the Bic method is not a new one but the article ends positively for Kryptonite. The AP writer interviewed Jon Currier, an employee at Belmont Wheelworks, who said the episode would not have a long-term affect on Kryptonite because the company has fixed security glitches before. Here's the company's full statement, released last night: We understand there are concerns regarding tubular cylinders used in some Kryptonite locks. The tubular cylinder, a standard industry-wide design, has been successfully used for more than 30 years in our products and other security applications without significant issues. The current Kryptonite locks based on a tubular cylinder design continue to present an effective deterrent to theft. As part of our continuing commitment to produce performance and improved security, Kryptonite has been developing a disc-style cylinder for some years. In 2000, Kryptonite introduced the disc-style cylinder in its premier line of products, the New York series. In 2002, Kryptonite began development of a new disc cylinder system for both its Evolution and KryptoLok product lines, which currently use the tubular cylinder design. These products are scheduled to be introduced in the next few weeks. "We are accelerating the delivery of the new disc cylinder locks and we will communicate directly with our distributors, dealers and consumers within the coming days. |