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Watch out police! 3D printed handcuffs keys have arrived

While 3D printing has various applications in different industries and we have only seen a small piece of a bigger pie what the 3D printing technology is capable of.

One of the latest invention raises question about security and whether more attention should be paid to the technology and regulations related to it. According to Forbes report high-end security handcuffs were successfully defeated by a cheaply produced plastic key using a 3D printer and a laser cutter.

During the Hackers on Planet Earth conference workshop in New York opening the handcuffs was demonstrated by a German hacker named “Ray”. He has been consulting the German police before on handcuff technology and stated that his presentation purpose was not to encourage the criminals, but to point out security problem to the authorities and handcuff makers. The tools for creating such keys are already available for criminals and wider public.

The 3D-printed replica keys were produced by a German manufacturer Bonowi and British maker Chubb. According to Ray he made accurate measurements of the key, which he purchased on eBay. Then CAD models of the key was created using Plexiglas and ABS plastic.

If the handcuff locks were unique, they couldn’t be replicated and opened with any copy of a standard key that matches the different manufacturer cuffs. As Ray stated: “Until every handcuff has a different key, they can be copied.”