USB-authenticated deadbolt lock promises to only let geeks pass
By Donald Melanson 
posted October 24th 2008 1:52PM
posted October 24th 2008 1:52PM
Sure you can go crazy and drop a few hundred bucks on a high-tech door lock, or you can follow the lead of the folks from Makers Local 256 and build this USB-authenticated deadbolt, which should set you back just $60 -- or no doubt less if you can scavenge up some spare parts. The setup is based on Arduino's slightly lesser known cousin the Freeduino, and effectively turns any standard USB thumb drive into a key, which can be just as easily lost or misplaced as a regular key but not as easily duplicated. What's more, it's not the data on the drive that gets read by the lock, but rather the serial number on a chip, which leaves the rest of the drive free for you to use as you please. Head on past the break to check it out in action.
If you could somehow work TrueCrypt into that scenario, it might be workable. Would you really want the key to your house to be a) the most easiest thing in the world to copy and b) also mass-distributable? Sure, you could just change "the lock" but still...
...Ok, ideastorm here. Howsabout you have a web server that auto-generates keys, and syncs your phone and lock with a new key every X hours (and would, say, require another password as well). Now, an attacker needs not only your cell phone, but also the password (in your head) to get into the house...hmmm.
And how do you get into your house when the power is out?
Battery Backup like most Fingerprint/Keycode door locks.
That is a wicked Mullet!!! Damn!!
This was my work colleges’ solution which I thought was pretty impressive.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=R2mRrxUpPek
I don't care how cool it is. I don't want to have to tape a massive bowl of electrical parts to my door. It would be cheaper( and take up less space) to just tape a little chinese guy to the door and hollar for him to let me in each time.
I don't know if I'd trust the unique serial numbers on USB key drives to be unique. I've already had problems with FireWire enclosures which have duplicate UUIDs in them; generally, the ones which also have USB support based on Prolific chips. But not all; and I don't know if it's a Prolific failure, or if there's an FPGA on the chip to set the FireWire ID.
Which means, basically, don't assume that everyone else who buys the same thumb drive doesn't have the same USB serial number. (Which is much like a FireWire ID; only it isn't required by the protocol. Duplicate FireWire IDs tends to crash the whole bus.)
Hmmm. Too bad I took those enclosures back; I never checked to see if the USB serial numbers were also non-unique.
Easy to hack, you attached usb traffic scanner hidden in the device.
You come back a few days later and tell the bug to re-send any serial number it cought, and you are in.
Easy eh....they sell traffic scanners at wal- marts much?
Despite the obvious lack of security of a clear text serial number, which can be solved by simply using any of the proven encryption standards. I think one very simple flaw exists in this design, how do you enter your home during a power outage?
if you include a battery, how do you enter the home during a power outage and the battery ran out or malfunctioned?
if you include a solar panel, how do you enter the home during a power outage and the battery ran out or malfunctioned on a cloudy day?
All in all you will always come back to the fact that you would need to carry both a key and a usb drive at all times. Whats the point?
Also this system provides no improvement over a standard key, actually it is a worse solution since a steel key is virtually indestructible by man.
Would only be worth trying if it WASN'T running on windows, how long before you come home and cant get in coz you keep getting the "Unrecognized USB device"
lol, wait I have to right click on "safely remove device" before pulling the key out.
Im in your doorz stealin all your keyz
until you lose your key.. then ask your locksmith to help you get in your house.
what happens when someone decides to shove some bubblegum into the usb slot?
My secret underground lair uses pin-pad + HID entry, thus anyone attempting to gain access requires the HID module embedded in my forehead plus a seven digit entry code.
Muhuhaha
clear aluminum?
I know it's only prototype, but jeez, I hate seeing bare connectors sitting on wire waiting to short out a laptop USB.