Digital door locks pose potential danger

By Yun Suh-young

Some digital door locks for apartments or offices can be unlocked with the use of random key cards, the Korea Consumer Agency (KCA) said in a recent report.

The KCA inspected 11 door locks that opened by either punching in numbers or key cards, and detected problems with the latter.

In the manual key card opening locks, it says transportation cards, credit cards or cell phones with chips installed in them can be used to open doors. These cards have their own identification numbers and must be registered for use.

However, according to the KCA research, some of the locks could be opened without the registered cards. Some opened when random transportation cards or smart phones with USIM (universal subscriber identity module) cards installed were used. The doors unlocked if the cards had same identification numbers, as apparently some were manufactured with the same ID.

“Although the manufacturers are planning to correct the flaws, there are many cards with unidentified chips being sold on the markets so there are potential security problems,” the KCA announced on their online message board.

“Because of this potential security danger, we advise users not to use transportation cards or smart phones as their keys. Only use tag keys the manufacturers provide with the locks. Registered tags did not have any problems.”

Also, some of the door locks were vulnerable to heat or cold.

In a cold situation below 15 degrees below Celsius, one of the products, the GE70C made by MSCL, did not recognize the key card. In a hot environment, above 55 degrees Celsius, the ATTA-AT2 made by Atta Global operated the heat sensor instead of recognizing the key.

Three of the digital door locks did not open in a fire situation, posing a danger to those who may be locked inside. The three — GE70C by MSCL, PTCQ-71 by Hilever, and JC-1 by Hyundae Door Lock — could not be opened even manually.

“Because these door locks are fixed with double locks, they automatically shut the doors down and cannot be opened even in a fire situation. This can pose a danger to those who are inside,” a KCA official said.

“There are currently no regulations to check the safety of door locks. We need safety standards for wireless technology.”