MIT Students Show How To 3D Print Keys For Breaking And Entering

The new 3D printer is proving to be a real hazard if it ever finds itself in the wrong hands. First we reported on the first 3D gun, which was a working firearm, and now we have the first set of non-duplicate keys.

MIT students demonstrated just how easy it is to break and enter by 3D printing “non-duplicatable” keys. According to the students, all you need is a flatbed scanner, an original lock key, and a code that the students have revealed at the DevCon hacking conference.

While some individuals may take this news and indulge in malicious behavior, the students that presented this new function don’t mean any ill will towards anyone. MIT students David Lawrence, Eric Van Albert, and Robert Johnson, did this demonstration to prove that we shouldn’t be so reliant on old technologies that act as security systems, especially with the new 3D printing tools.

Even though most people do not own a 3D printer, there are some that do, and there’s no telling what it will be used for. This is just one of those uses for the affordable device. It should be considered what it can be used for beyond a firearm and keys. Although it feels like a lifetime, it wasn’t so long that we were looking at the scanner as a revelation.

The MIT students submitted these designs to 3D printing services and received working copies made of material other than titanium. It takes absolutely nothing to download the key and go nuts, especially with 4chan and The Pirate Bay around.

The 3D Printing Industry site released a statement about this issue, stating:

“Security is like a Chinese finger trap. The more you try to break free, the tighter it becomes. And what these hackers have done is given us the illusion of freedom, while making the trap tighter. By rendering mechanical locks obsolete, we have become more deeply entrenched in the high-tech security state.”

What’s your opinion on 3D printing?

[Image credit: Topseller/ Shutterstock]