ProSecurityNews

In this episode we answer some listener questions about fire and burglary resistant safes, and we talk about deadbolt locks and some methods to help you up-sell. Schlage’s new Link series of internet connected electronic locks is getting the attention of “mom bloggers”. Black & Decker  also announced an internet enabled residential lock and security system. Anti Lock Bumping laws take effect as the new year opens, and they give law enforcement another charge to levy against a suspect.

Show Links:

UL | Personal Safe Sales On The Rise But How Safe Are They?

State Farm – Choosing the best door lock for your home

State Farm – Protect yourself against home burglary

Illinois anti Lock Bumping Law – TomCross.com

Schlage – Mom Blog

BDHHI.com: Access Control Survey

Lockmasters Security Institute – security and locksmith training, LSI Education.

With lawsuit settled, MIT hackers now work with MBTA

ADT-Sensormatic wins patent lawsuit – Security Director News

UTC Fire & Security Announces Completion of Detection Logic Acquisition

International Society of Crime Prevention Practitioners, ISCPP

The entire text of the show follows the break.

Pro Security News – PSN006 Script

Residential Burglary  – a listener has questions about safes.

Last week we reported about an increase in residential burglary thefts fueled by the slow economic times. We reported that, particularly in one Augusta Georgia neighborhood, burglars are carrying off lightweight residential safes and opening them elsewhere.
During that segment I pointed out that safes weighing less than 750 pounds should be bolted down, and that fireproof safes should not be used for the protection of valuables. A listener to our show wrote in to ask me to clarify and explain those 2 statements.

First of all, I took the 750 pounds from the UL standard for burglary resistant safes. In order to achieve the lowest UL TL15 rating a safe must weigh at least 750 pounds, or, if it weighs less, have interior holes suitable for bolting the safe to the floor. It is safe to assume that UL did not arrive at 750 pounds casually, so that is why I said what I did. Of course, with a stout hand truck, even a 750 pound safe could be removed. provided there were few obstacles such as stairs. There are devices like the Lectro Truck that enable one man to move a 1500 pound safe up or down a flight of stairs.

Her second question was “why shouldn’t you store valuables in a fire proof safe?”
Fire rated safes are made of sheet metal and sometimes plastic and are very easy to open with a crow bar or other hand tools. It is called “peeling a safe” because the sheet metal is literally peeled back like you would peel an orange. A fireproof safe actually consists of 2 walls, an inner wall and an outer wall, both made of sheet metal about the same thickness as the body of your car. In between the walls you find a material that resembles cement or gypsum. This material holds moisture in suspension. When a fire occurs, the moisture is released into the safe in the form of steam which keeps the contents from burning for time that the safe has been rated for.

Regarding forced entry, you can probably picture in your mind that it would not be a super human feat to pry open the trunk of your car with a crowbar. In a similar way, it would take about the same or less effort to open a fireproof safe with a crowbar. A burglary resistant safe on the other hand uses a lot of thick steel, which conducts heat, which in turn makes it bad for use as a fire proof safe since the conducted heat is dangerous to our contents. An attack on a burglar proof safe requires power tools or a cutting torch. some burglar proof safes are rated for protection against cutting torches and even explosives.

Having said that, there are “composite” safes available for home and business that are both burglary & fire rated, and they don’t cost much more that a good quality fire rated safe. Some carry the UL RSC (residential security container) rating which was developed specifically for this category of fire/burglary resistant safe. This means that it is rated to withstand a 5 minute forced entry attack by a trained UL technician, probably enough to stop the average home burglar, but not enough to stop an expert. So a few insured valuables would be OK, but any substantial assets need a burglary resistant safe.

It is also feasible to put a small fireproof box inside a burglary rated safe, or even the opposite, fasten a small burglary resistant safe inside a fire rated safe. Most safe manufacturers provide these options. I should also point out that you should not store computer media inside a conventional fireproof safe either. Floppy disks and CD’s must be stored in a media safe which has a much lower internal temperature in the event of fire, and has less internal humidity, an excess of which can damage a floppy disk or any magnetic media.
Unfortunately many homeowners and small businesses buy safes from a big box hardware store or a big box office supply store and really don’t know what they are getting until it is too late. They certainly would not get even a glimmer of the very basic explanation I have offered here. The locksmith community is in a unique position to educate the consumer which in turn will lead to sales.

State Farm recommends ANSI Grade 1 Deadbolt Locks

Regarding the same story, listener Tom sent us link to a State Farm Insurance web page that reminds us of the basics in home security. I was pleased to see that State Farm recommends ANSI grade 1 deadbolt locks, with security strike plates and 3” long screws that attach to the wall framing, not just the door frame. Furthermore, they go on to recommend locks with key control and they precisely explain the issue of unauthorized duplicate keys. This is great news for locksmiths because Grade 1 locks are less likely to be found in the big box stores, and neither is a lock with key control.

The rest of the article is well written and goes on to explain some other features to look for in good locks. Locksmiths should look for ways to use this information in their sales programs. Such an independent opinion on facts that you have already presented to your customer should help close the deal.

Try this sales technique next time you have a client looking for deadbolt locks.

Start with the best deadbolt you can find.  Carefully describe all the features of your best product to your customer. Have them hold it in their hand and feel how much it weighs. This lock should be ANSI Grade 1, UL approved as a high security lock, have a key control system, and a high security strike plate. Explain what makes it such a great lock. Some examples would be Medeco, ASSA, or Abloy. (You have one of these brands of lock on your house, right?)

Next, talk about a lesser quality lock, still Grade 1, but not high security. Maybe one that has a key system that could only be copied by a fellow locksmith and not a big box store. The Schlage Primus series would be just one example.

Finally, talk about a 3rd lock, one that is barely Grade 1 but has no key control.  A Kwikset Ultramax 900 series is one example.

This approach is based on a sales technique call the triplicate of choice. You always start by explaining the features of the best product you have. As you move down the list the features drop off. By the time you get to your bottom product, there is not much to say, it really has no features to speak of other than it is Grade one.

You will find that most customers will buy the one in the middle, some will buy the best you have, and a few will buy the bottom lock choice. So a little hint is to make sure you buy the one in the middle at a good price. And never sell anything that they can buy in a big box store. The top of the line in a big box store should be below the bottom of your line.  If you want more information on how to sell security products, send me an email.

Embrace Lock Bumping – New Laws for 2009

I mentioned lock bumping in the previous article. This is an old technique of lock opening that has been made popular by the internet, and subsequently by the national news media. I don’t subscribe to the theory that this is dangerous information. Locks that can be bumped can also be picked or impressioned to gain surreptitious entry. Picking is shown widely on TV and in the movies. Instead of hiding from this information, locksmiths and security practitioners should embrace it and openly use it to sell better security.

I used it to sell electronic security with my previous employer. When giving a presentation or instructing a class I would seek out the person I felt was the least mechanically inclined. I would hand them the bump key, the cylinder and a mallet and give them some quick instruction. Everyone opened the lock in 4 or less whacks with the mallet.  That demonstration is a powerful tool when you are selling something like a mag stripe card lock.

I recommend you do the same thing. Put a conventional popular deadbolt on your counter with a bump key and a mallet and invite your customers to try it. They have all seen the hype, let them see how it works. And then use that opportunity to engage the customer and show them how higher security products can offer more protection.

Several states have passed legislation related to lock bumping. The latest one to come to my attention was Illinois. Basically these new laws give law enforcement another charge to levy against an individual that have apprehended. In the case of the illinois law, House Bill 2859 (P.A. 95-0883) provides that the possession of a key designed for lock bumping allows for an inference that the possessor of such a tool has the intent to commit a felony or theft. Exemptions include a law enforcement officer, private detective, fingerprint vendor, or employee of a private alarm or security firm or a locksmith.

Residential Locks – Meet the Internet and Blackberry!

Last week we reported that Schlage showed off their new Schlage-Link product at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Locksmiths might want to pay attention to the buzz this product is getting among, from of all people, your mom’s. That’s right, there is a lot of ‘mom blogging’ going on about this lock and the perceived benefits to today’s modern household. You might want to pick up a demo system for your truck or locksmith shop and be prepared to present its benefits to potential customers. There is a link in the show notes where you can see what mom’s are saying. By way of a reminder, the Schlage Link is a lock system that can be controlled remotely by any internet connected device such as your Blackberry or other smartphone.

Not to be outdone, Black & Decker also announced a residential access control lock at the same CES show. Black & Decker is the parent company of Kwikset (the nations #1 residential lockset), Baldwin, and Weiser Lock.  In January of 2009, CES attendees saw a sneak preview of this yet-to-be-released, remote control wireless residential access control solution to be offered under the Kwikset and Baldwin brands. The system uses motorized deadbolt locks and is designed to inter-operate with residential lighting control systems and security alarm systems.

Some of the “Key features” (pun intended) include remote locking and unlocking, door lock status notification and automatic security system arming and disarming.  The product is also included with SmartKey, their technology that provides homeowners the ability to re-key their own locks quickly and easily.

One important feature is feedback to the control brain of the system that lets you know if your doors are actually locked. This is a benefit over a security alarm system which can only tell you if your doors are  closed. Should you discover you left the house and forgot to lock a door, you can lock it via your mobile phone or secure web access. You could even unlock the door in the same way to admit a guest or service person who arrived home before you did.

The system can limit access to users to specific times or days of the week, perfect to narrow down the access times for a housekeeper or cleaning crew. To reduce false alarms, the system can be connected so that it disarms your security system when the door is unlocked and automatically turns on certain lights.

Some of the things you can do with your Blackberry or other smart phone are; Lock or Unlock Doors, Check Lock Status Remotely, Receive Notification of Who Enters your Home and When, and Remotely Add or Delete Codes.  For more, visit the website listed in the show notes.

Lockmasters Security Institute offers high tech training.

As you can tell from the previous stories, electronics are coming on very strong in the lock and hardware industry more than ever before. Traditional mechanical lock companies who have never had sophisticated electronic locks are seeing new opportunities and new possibilities when they combine electronics and mechanics into one product.

How would you assess the skills of your organization relative to the sales & servicing of these new electronic products? Could you benefit from more training?  It is still early in 2009 and not too late to  schedule some training at Lockmasters Security Institute.  LSI offers dozens of courses including Access Control Systems, Professional Industrial Locksmithing, GSA Container Inspection and Comprehensive Security Specialist Training just to name a few. Many of our courses are college accredited and all of them are taught by instructors who have had actual hands on experience. Our instructors come from senior positions of responsibility with Fortune 500 companies, the DoD, the FBI, and the Secret Service,  just to name a few.
Give LSI a call or visit the website and check the list of course offerings. While you are there, check out the new video of the LSI campus, and the worlds largest lock museum, hosted by Clay Miller.

MIT Subway Card Hackers get a job – with the subway!

Previously we reported on some MIT students who hacked the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority subway  card system.  The three MIT students were sued by the Transit Authority over their research into subway card vulnerabilities. The lawsuit was dismissed after a judge lifted a gag order in August that prevented the students from discussing their work. The students had planned to present their research at the Defcon hacker conference in Las Vegas last August 10, but canceled their presentation after a judge granted the MBTA’s request for an injunction the day before.

Anyway, all is well now and the 3 students have landed jobs with the Transit Authority and are now working to improve the fare collection system.

Don’t steal your employers secrets!

ADT Security Services recently won a “major lawsuit” against The Tag Company, a competitor that was infringing on the company’s patents. In its decision, the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida, immediately prohibited The Tag Company from making or selling any of its products in the United States that were produced using confidential information about patent-protected Sensormatic products. This includes the company’s Series 58 acousto-magnetic label.

The Series 58 label raised concerns for the company when it was launched. One of The Tag Company’s consultants was a former Sensormatic engineer. It was found that this engineer  “violated his prior employment agreement by misusing confidential information,” and he was ordered to pay court costs and attorney’s fees.

The obvious lesson here is to make sure that all employees have signed an intellectual property agreement, and that they are reminded of that agreement, and the penalties for breaching it, during any exit interview. In fact, this very story could be used as an example of what can happen.

UTC Fire & Security still expanding.

UTC Fire & Security, continues it’s expansion into the fire and security service sector with the recent acquisition of Detection Logic Fire Protection, Inc., a leading provider of repair, service, and inspection solutions to the life safety industry.  Detection Logic is headquartered in California. They engineer, install and service fire detection and protection systems for commercial building customers.
They operate out of 13 U.S. branches concentrated in the West and Gulf Coast area.

Closing Comments

In closing,a quick shout out to Cory Sneed, a crime prevention officer in Scottsdale Arizona. Cory writes for the newsletter of  the International Society of Crime Prevention Practitioners and he mentioned our humble podcast & blog in the recent newsletter. Cory is also an alumni of LSI,