TSA security screeners need to be able to access travelers’ baggage, even if it’s locked, so agents use a set of master keys to open those locks instead of breaking them open. As part of a November 2014 behind-the-scenes story about luggage, the <em>Washington Post at first included a photo of a set of seven of those TSA master keys.
From the Post:
It’s locked? No problem, Dr. Mumbai, the inspector has a key ring full of master keys for TSA approved locks. The photographer headed for Boise had two locks on the golf case containing his tripods, and both yielded readily to the inspector’s keys.
Though the photo went seemingly unnoticed for months, by the time the Post pulled it in August, it was too late: a security researcher going by “Xyl2K” was able to create CAD files that can be used to 3-D print all seven of those master keys, and posted them to code-sharing site Github, reports Wired.com.
So far, at least one owner of a 3-D printer has been able to make a key in five minutes using cheap plastic. He posted a video online showing that it opened a TSA-approved luggage lock:
He told Wired he used cheap plastic and didn’t make any modifications, and that it “worked on the first try.”
We reached out to the TSA for comment and will update this post if we hear back. In the meantime, if you’re worried about the safety of your belongings while traveling, you can either risk having a non-TSA approved lock that gets broken if your bag needs to be searched, or hope that no one out there is walking around with a set of 3-D printed keys that could unlock your baggage.
by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist
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