There’s a really brute force attack on this type of combination lock; you connect a high speed drill directly to the dial and run it at 500 r.p.m. for a few days. The combination wheels eventually ‘saw’ through the Fence after 10-15 million rotations and the Fence Lever drops into the Cam Gate.
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If I wanted to find the combination to a safe, I would create a “security reminder” placard “Be SURE the safe is locked before leaving unattended” with a hidden camera pointed at the dial that only started recording when the dial turned. That would also work for electronic dials. Even better is you also have one without the camera to replace it with once you have the combo, so there isn’t evidence that it is compromised.
Alas, there are a couple of flaws in your methodology. All you have to do is check the handle operating the boltworks; if it doesn’t move, the safe is locked. If the handle moves, move it to extend the bolts to the locked position and simply spin the dial. You don’t even have to look at it. the wheel pack is scrambled and the safe is properly locked.
Using a camera is one of the reasons a spyproof dial is sometimes used. You have to look down at the numbers through a small window in the top of the dial assembly (the numbers are on the edge of the dial instead of the face).
The vaults at my old job tended to collect various mandated notices over time. Little reminder notices.
A log of who opened, secured and checked the vault at the end of the day. A legal notice telling you that it was illegal to sketch, map, or diagram anything inside. There was a little two sided magnet with “OPEN” on one side and “SECURE” on the other. Which is stupid because there is no good reason to ever close the door without locking it. But it was required nonetheless. And yes, looking directly down onto the dial is why I was figuring on an “O” shaped magnetic hanger that fits around the dial would allow you to fix the mini camera pointing downwards directly at the dial. And it would still work with the electronic locks with a small LCD display fixed on top of the dial housing that replaced all of the mechanical combination locks with. Probably easier to design than glue on card skimmers.
Inventive minds have already thought of ways to defeat our puny attempts at circumventing safe and vault locks!
- Dual custody locks, where there are 2 combination locks to be dialed and each one of a pair of users having custody of the combination of only one lock.
- Even in the event of collusion, time locks that prevent the vault from being opened outside of specified hours.
- Keys that lock the dial so only authorized individuals can unlock and enter the combination.
- Alarm systems requiring a phone call and passphrase to prevent police response. And the options go on.
The goal of any security technology is to deter, detect and delay. Safes and vaults are simply boxes that are tough to get into quickly.
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If the safe was in a secure room it is convenient for folks who need to access working papers or secret equipment during the workday, but could then secure them at the end of the day.
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If the lock was on the room itself and persons would need to come and go with a card-swipe. Then only when the last person left would the room need to be locked.
Um, the video is only 11:22 long. Anyway, I remember a James Bond movie having a similar gadget; he had a martini while it was running IIR.
My apologies, I’ve corrected my post to the correct times - 10:52 and 10:54.
8/10.
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.
Peeking into a Swiss lawyer’s safe.
The gadget is so large and heavy that he uses the crane on a nearby construction site (funny how these things always work out for 007, innit?) to get it in and out the office during the lawyer’s lunch break.
No martini (not even a Martini); he passes the time the gadget needs with the help of an issue of Playboy, no doubt reading an essay by, say Norman Mailer in vital issues of the day. He nicks the centerfold, though.
Also, the gadget seems a step back from the one 007 uses in You Only Live Twice.
This is why high end elecrtonic combination locks for classified stuff have an “anti spin” feature. They lock out for a period of time if you spin the dial too fast too often and because turning the dial powers the lock, they are hard to spin fast.
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