It depends on your threat vector. In the academic sense they’re less secure but if you often loan out keys they’re more secure because you don’t have to give someone the key. If you often forget to lock the door they’re more secure because you can do it remotely.
Or if you have kids they can’t lose their keys if they just have a pin. And that pin can be changed if they tell it to someone.
From what I’ve seen? Considerably less secure.
Many of them feature a normal pin-tumbler lock cylinder as a backup in case the electronics fail, and best case scenario it’s going to be as mediocre as any old Kwikset hanging on the peg on the comedy aisle at Lowe’s. So you’re probably still vulnerable to key theft, key duplication, picking, combing, raking, jiggling, etc.
Then there’s the electronics. A surprising number of them rely on either a solenoid to directly operate the latch/bolt, or a relay that energizes a motor to do the same, both of these are vulnerable to attacks by magnets. A stupid number of them are vulnerable to disassembly attacks. There are trace evidence attacks such as looking at the keypad and noticing where all the fingerprints are, there’s just watching you dial the combination…
And the smart phone app driven ones…sure, let’s send a signal that means “I just got home” across the internet. That sounds safe.
Check the YouTube channel 'the lockpicking lawyer". He picks locks, both mechanical and electrical. His typical videos don’t take more than 2-3 minute because that’s all he needs to pick a lock multiple times. Electrical locks usually are opened with a paperclip or something similar. Wat too many locks are designed and built by idiots who have no idea about security
I wish that he would try his hand on a lock from Yale. Considering that they are part of Assa Abloy who are very well respected in the lock business. My suspicion is that a company who are mainly makers of mechanical locks at least won’t fall prey for the many of the beginners mistakes lockpicking lawyer points out.
Things might be different by now, but when I was researching this I decided on the Yale x Nest.
It’s more secure than a keyed lock in the following ways:
- Can’t be picked (no physical keyhole).
- Codes can be revoked or time-gated (for example, you can set the dog walker’s code to work only at the time of day they’re expected to come by).
- Guest codes can be set to provide real-time notifications when used.
- The lock keeps a detailed log of every time it’s used.
- The lock can be set to automatically lock the door after a certain amount of time.
It’s less secure than a physical traditional lock in the following ways:
- Compromise of a keycode isn’t as obvious as losing a key, so you might not change a compromised keycode the same way you might change a lost key.
- People can theoretically see a code being punched in, or intercept compromised communications to use it.
- Compromised app or login could be used to assign new codes or remotely unlock
It’s basically the same level of security in the following ways:
- The deadbolt can still be defeated with the same physical weaknesses that a typical deadbolt has: blunt force, cutting with a saw, etc.
- The windows and doors are probably just generally weak around your house, to where a determined burglar can get in no matter what lock you use.
- Works like normal without power or network connection (just can’t be remotely unlocked or reprogrammed to add/revoke codes if not online)
Overall, I’d say it’s more secure against real-world risk, where the weakest link tends to be the people you share your keys with.
If the door is made of cardboard as most us’s one are u better get the cheapest one it won’t make a difference… look at an European door if u don’t now what I mean…
Less secure.
I know smartlocks have had their share of vulerabilities. I remember 3 or 4 years ago hearing about things such as sending codes un-encrypted over wifi or basing their security on MAC addresses alone. Both are practically a ‘key on top of the doormat’ travesty. THis may have got better. I think the issue is that manufacturers jump at a market without having much knowledge of IT security. Similar to whats happening with the connectivity of cars. The fact that most peeps in IT security(ok, they might lean towards the paranoid) will not have a smart lock on their house is enough for me for the time being.
More ways to open is leds secure than leds ways to open. That said if you have an unsecured window, then that is the weakest link of the chain.
“The weakest part of the door is the window (next to it)”
“You don’t need a key when you have a brick”I put that 3M film on all my accessible windows and doors. It takes 3-4 hits with a sledge to get through. Thieves don’t come prepaired for that and even if they are, the alarm would go off on the first hit. It’s also a very loud noise and an extra minute of smashing on a populated downtown street. Well worth the extra cost.
I have august door locks, from the outside you wouldnt know its there. They eat up batteries frequently.
If you need electricity to operate your locks, a power failure is the difference between you sleeping on your front porch, or burglars having a key to your house.
No house lock goes from locked to unlocked if you cut power to the house. What the hell are you talking about? They’re battery powered and nearly every single one of them still uses a key from the outside as a manual override.
