Keep it secret, stupid!

Adam Shostack adam at homeport.org
Tue Jan 28 10:23:12 EST 2003


On Mon, Jan 27, 2003 at 07:42:25PM -0600, Neil Johnson wrote:
| 
| My favorite lock is the electronic lock I saw in a data center. To make  it 
| easier to leave the room, they installed a motion detector near the door to 
| unlock the door when you walked toward the door. That way you didn't need to 
| badge out (why they considered this a bad thing, I don't know).

Probably fire or safety codes, it seems pretty standard.

| Which is all well and good until you notice that there is a 1/2" gap along the 
| bottom of the door.  Take a dowel rod, tape a piece of cardboard to the edge 
| (like a flag), stick it under the door, rotate the dowel a couple of times to 
| trigger the motion sensor, and  ta-da! you are in.

This is also standard.  Best way is paper under the door, and the best
cheap fix I've seen involves weather striping bottom of the door so
you can't get the paper through easily. (the frame needs to be
staggered, so that paper doesn't go through at all, but that would
lead to a risk of tripping people at the floor.)

Adam


-- 
"It is seldom that liberty of any kind is lost all at once."
					               -Hume



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