How to Defend Against Lock Bumping

A Key Lock Doesn’t Keep all the Bad Guys Out

Quite plainly, more than 90% of Tumbler locks are susceptible to lock bumping. Lock bumping is a process of accessing and opening a lock with the use of a bump key.

It’s a relatively fast and easy method in use by burglars to gain access to homes. Ironically, high-quality locks may be more vulnerable to lock bumping than the others. This is explained by the precise nature of the manufacturing components within the cylinder, furthermore. Hardened steel locks are more vulnerable to lock bumping because they are less likely to be damaged during a bumping attempt than their cheaper counterpart.

How does lock bumping work?

Facts by the department of justice put the number of burglary with no sign of forced entry at 2/3 of the total burglary cases, a likely exploit is lock bumping. Lock bumping utilizes a specially cut key otherwise known as the 999 key to gain entrance into a property.  After insertion into the key hole, the key is then struck thereby transferring mechanical energy through the apparatus to unarm the lock. This technique requires no special skill and is fairly successful most of the times.

Image of a burglar attempting ‘Lock Bumping’

How can you defend against lock bumping?

• Take to your locksmith about inserting additional springs into your lock. This has the advantage of making it difficult but not impossible to be lock bumped.
• Get a wireless keypad such as the August door lock or Vivint keylock.  Then you don’t rely on a key opening the door.
• Upgrade to a combination lock, time lock electronic lock or any other lock proven to be bump resistant. An electronic lock is completely safe from bumping and stays highly recommend but its cost. Might be a hindrance
• Install a home security system, the era of leaving security in the hands of conventional door lock and deadbolt has passed. A home security system is the best choice if you truly desire to protect your home.

In Closing

It only takes approximately 10 -15 seconds for a burglar to bump a cylinder lock and gain entry into a home. To prevent such from happening, it is mandatory to either invest in a home security system (reviews of Top 10 here) or run an upgrade on the existing locks by the locksmith. It’s relatively cheaper to replace the springs in a cylinder lock than invest in new locks.

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Isabelle Landau

Growing up with Law and Order and CSI shows taught Isabelle Landau one thing: if people back then had high-quality home security systems, those series would have been way shorter. In our modern world, technology helps us keep burglars away easily, and this is what Izzy studies and writes about: alarm systems, home security, protection systems, and more.