Other Attacks

Door Hold-open

Simply the act of sticking something in between a door so that it doesn’t fully close. I’ve heard of paperclips and gaffer tape being used for this.

Hinge Pin attack

If the hinge pins of a safe or door are on the attacker’s side, then the attacker may attempt to remove them.

This attack is stopped by security hinges and jamb pins.

Door Gap attacks

If there’s enough of a gap in the door that you can get something through, then you might be able to operate the handle.

Over the door

If the handle opens upwards, then you can lower movie film from over the door, hook the handle and pull it up.

Under the door

In a similar way, if you can get some wire through under the door, then you can pull the handle

Tool height is important. You want the end of the tool to be at the height of the door handle. Also, you want to keep the head of the tool against the door as you’re moving the tool into place. That way you won’t miss the handle.

Hook modification

For short-tail and flat bar handles, the conventional under door tool method won’t work. The tool will simply slip off the handle. For those cases, you can make a slight modification to your tool to include a hook, which will prevent the tool from slipping off.

String improvement

You can use a kevlar-reinforced string instead of the normal one they give when you buy it. That way it won’t fray against the potentially sharp edges of the door.

Crash bars

If you hook against a crash bar, then you can use the string of the under door tool to engage the crash bar

Door knobs

You can even use the under door tool to turn door knobs by using athletic tape

Supplementary tools

These tools will help you conduct the attack:

  • Borescope for visibility

  • Air wedges for gap widening

  • A second person with a traveler hook

    • Often actuating the handle halfway will disengage the deadlatch and allow a traveler hook to slip the latch.

In between double doors

If there’s a set of double doors with a vertical gap in the middle, you can use the double door tool to actuate the crash bar on the other side.

Thumb turning from the side

This device can turn the thumb turn if you can get it through the door.

Gap widening

If a gap is not wide enough to fit a tool through, then you might be able to use an air wedge to make the gap wider. These are often used for prying car doors open wider so you can get tools inside.

Improving visibility

Getting bypass tools to work is easier if you can see what you’re doing.

Borescope

You can use a borescope to provide a live feed of the door handle you’re attacking.

Defeating frosted glass windows

A piece of clear packing tape will fill in the microabraded surface of the glass, providing a smooth surface for light to pass through, rather than a rough surface which refracts light.

Prevention

Anything to make sure there is no gap. For example, security astragals. Note that the whole gap has to be covered, and there cannot be any gap under, between or above the door.

Keyed-alike systems

Some systems (like some apartment building access electronics boxes) are all keyed using the same key, with the same cut. These keys can be bought online and used to get into places.

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