вЂњThis was done by legally procuring actual locks, comparing the inner workings, and finding the common denominator.В ItвЂ™s a great metaphor for how weak encryption mechanisms are broken вЂ“ gather enough data, find the pattern, then just вЂmathвЂ™ out a universal key (or set of keys),вЂќ Johnny Xmas explained at the Eleventh HOPE conference in New York.В вЂњWhat weвЂ™re doing here is literally cracking physical encryption, and I fear that metaphor isnвЂ™t going to be properly delivered to the public.вЂќ

However, because they only make one master key, all their locks contained the data needed. The Safe Skies key was more difficult to reproduce, with zero images of it being publicly available. DarkSim905, Johnny Xmas and another hacker later added to the project with some fixes. Less than a year later, 3D printed copies emerged, making all Travel Sentry locks essentially useless against theft.В AВ hacker named Xylit0l used the high-quality public images and more data to make 3D printable copies of the Travel Sentry master keys.

The photo has since been removed from the article, but not before someone was able to digitally recreate the keys, and then share the files. In 2014, the Washington Post inadvertently published an article which included a high resolution photo of all seven Travel Sentry TSA master keys.

There are two companies that design these locks, Travel Sentry, which outsources seven lock designs to other manufacturers, and Safe Skies which produces their own lock. If you are unfamiliar, TSA approved locks allow luggage security personnelВ to unlock and inspect your bags without damaging locks, using master keys. In a move to prove a point about security, a group of hackers have released blueprints to 3D print the eighth and last TSA master key this week at a conference in New York.

Tsa locks master key