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Has that actually ever happened? Lockpicking Lawyer shows most locks are almost effortless to pick. The same locks sold by the millions to all of us. Even so o

Has that actually ever happened? Lockpicking Lawyer shows most locks are almost effortless to pick. The same locks sold by the millions to all of us. Even so of course we know there IS liability for some things and maybe just locks are not a good example. But then maybe that just means that security itself is not a good example and the authorities are being inconsistent by going after security only in software. Or maybe it just means the liability should not be just security in general, but responsibility for when you hold something for someone else. Most other forms of liability are for the safety of an object sold to the public, or it's very basic functionality. If a normal expected use of a lock cuts peoples fingers off, or if it fails to latch at all, not if it is easy to defeat.

iterance 2y ago
Lockmakers don't generally claim that their locks are completely resistant to bad actors, but good lockmakers will sometimes claim they are resistant to specific kinds of attack. On the legal side, "almost effortless to break" is not the same as non-functioning. In many cases the legal purpose of a lock is to establish intent and culpability: you can't aimlessly wander into a locked room, even if it has the world's shittiest Master lock on it. You gotta break the lock to do that. It serves as a semiotic indicator that an area or item was supposed to be off-limits; as a member of society the onus is on you to respect that. Locks are likely a poor analogy for software engineering.
amelius 2y ago
> Has that actually ever happened? Lockpicking Lawyer shows most locks are almost effortless to pick. The same locks sold by the millions to all of us. Then we need new rules for lockmakers too.
- tzs 2y ago
  The job of a home lock is not to be completely impervious to picking (or other bypass methods like shimming or drilling). It is to make getting in by defeating the lock harder than getting in by breaking the door or breaking a window to the kind of bad guy that most homeowners in the lock's target market will encounter. Putting too high a security lock on your house doesn't really reduce your break in rate and it can makes it more expensive if you ever lose your keys if the lock is too hard for the locksmith you call to easily pick. The locksmith may have to drill it, and then you need to replace the lock. If it is a high enough security lock that the locksmith can't get passed it you'll end up breaking a window anyway, and you probably have to pay for at least 1/2 hour of the locksmith's hourly rate for them to have come out to tell you to break a window.
  - amelius 2y ago
    We should really talk about locks on businesses. A house can have a lighter lock than a bank, and different legal principles apply.

iterance 2y ago

Lockmakers don't generally claim that their locks are completely resistant to bad actors, but good lockmakers will sometimes claim they are resistant to specific kinds of attack. On the legal side, "almost effortless to break" is not the same as non-functioning. In many cases the legal purpose of a lock is to establish intent and culpability: you can't aimlessly wander into a locked room, even if it has the world's shittiest Master lock on it. You gotta break the lock to do that. It serves as a semiotic indicator that an area or item was supposed to be off-limits; as a member of society the onus is on you to respect that. Locks are likely a poor analogy for software engineering.

amelius 2y ago

> Has that actually ever happened? Lockpicking Lawyer shows most locks are almost effortless to pick. The same locks sold by the millions to all of us. Then we need new rules for lockmakers too.

tzs 2y ago
The job of a home lock is not to be completely impervious to picking (or other bypass methods like shimming or drilling). It is to make getting in by defeating the lock harder than getting in by breaking the door or breaking a window to the kind of bad guy that most homeowners in the lock's target market will encounter. Putting too high a security lock on your house doesn't really reduce your break in rate and it can makes it more expensive if you ever lose your keys if the lock is too hard for the locksmith you call to easily pick. The locksmith may have to drill it, and then you need to replace the lock. If it is a high enough security lock that the locksmith can't get passed it you'll end up breaking a window anyway, and you probably have to pay for at least 1/2 hour of the locksmith's hourly rate for them to have come out to tell you to break a window.
- amelius 2y ago
  We should really talk about locks on businesses. A house can have a lighter lock than a bank, and different legal principles apply.