Safecracking: from the origins to the present..
Safecracking: from the origins to the present.
As soon as the concept of private property appeared, how did man begin to protect this property. This is how the first safes appeared, although in ancient times, of course, locking systems were much simpler than they are now.
Scientists found the first key in the tomb of the Egyptian pharaoh Ramses II. A little later, the first metal locks were discovered in ancient China. But archaeologists disagree on where the first locking mechanism appeared. Perhaps the desire to protect one's own property is so inherent in the human race that it appeared simultaneously in many civilizations.
The first safes were not at all like modern models. Rather, the ancestor of the safe was a chest or casket, which was used to store money, securities, jewelry and clothes.
Newton also established that every action has its own reaction. The same applies to safes. No matter how high-quality the locking mechanism system is, there will always be a person who can break it. As soon as the first analogues of modern safes appeared, they immediately began to be broken into.
The first safes were very easy to crack, and the main problem for burglars was not how to open them, but how to steal the treasured chest. With the advent of iron safes, the task of burglars became much more complicated. It was no longer possible to pick a combination or key to complex locks. Then another method of breaking in appeared — the lock or door of the safe was simply blown up, carefully pouring explosives into the keyhole.
A new era of protection from burglars began with the advent and active distribution of combination locks, that is, protection that requires knowledge of a numeric or letter combination.
The easiest modern way to open a combination lock is to pick the initial combination. You can use a simple enumeration to do this. Of course, this method is long and ineffective, but it also has a right to exist. Sometimes simple luck allows an intruder to quickly guess the code and open the safe. If the safe is stolen beforehand, then there will be plenty of time to pick the code. For those who do not want to try combinations manually, there are even special auto-dialing machines that try thousands of options in a short time and find the correct combination. Of course, the production of such machines is not widely established, but if they exist, then someone uses them.
True, professionals act faster. An experienced burglar can decipher the code by the sound and clicks that the lock makes when the code combination is selected. In order to protect locks from this method of breaking, safe manufacturers often add rings with false grooves to the lock, which confuse even experienced thieves.
If the code cannot be deciphered, then you have to bypass it. Drilling is one of the most popular methods for quickly and easily opening any safe. By the way, this method is sometimes used «legally» when it is necessary to open a safe in which the security system has failed. They usually drill near the combination lock in order to better understand its internal structure and open it faster.
But even here, burglars face a whole series of problems. To prevent the safe from being mechanically opened so easily, manufacturers use very thick plates made of durable material, which are simply impossible to penetrate with an ordinary drill. Sometimes, in addition to steel or tungsten, a layer of glass is added to the safe door structure, which is a kind of sensor. If its integrity is compromised, it means that someone is trying to open the safe, and then additional protection is activated.
Even today, one of the oldest methods of breaking safes is still popular – blowing up the combination lock. However, this method of breaking must be used very carefully so as not to damage the contents of the safe.
At all times, safe-cracking has attracted many adventurers. It so happened that the desire to earn money dishonestly with the help of dexterity and skill, in any society, although punishable, is very exciting. One of the most famous safe-crackers is Langdon Moore, a small farmer who managed to rob several banks at once in the second half of the 19th century. He can rightfully be considered the best inventor and discoverer of burglary methods. Moore's first robbery was based on an interesting feature of any safe — each batch of produced locks, although different, can be opened with one common key. Moore managed to find a safe, the design of which was similar to the design of a bank vault, and create a common key for both safes. Moore then repeatedly used explosives, which were later adopted by other safecrackers.
Another notable robber, who is, however, known more as a positive hero, is Charles Cournet, the grandson of the French writer Jules Verne. Charles became famous for his ability to open locks underwater, and helped to return many, many treasures from sunken ships.
Today, the ability to open safes is still in demand. No, no, this does not mean criminal activity at all. World safecracking tournaments are held annually. Jeff Sitar has repeatedly won them.