Marc Weber Tobias just put out a book on flaws in the Medeco biaxial and slider (m3) design, which has garnered quite a bit of attention lately. In fact, the Medeco3 design is relatively new and was touted to be reasonably high security. With some study, Tobias discovered a flaw in the design that makes it surprisingly easy to defeat. He found something that Medeco and the Underwriters Labs missed. That's what makes him, him; and he's very good at what he does.

See, there are a few things to keep in mind with this. First, Marc Weber Tobias is considered the foremost expert on locks and lockpicking, as well as security in general. Basically, he's one of the best out there, if not "THE" best.

Second, reports are, that Medeco is finally working with him to create better designed locks without the flaw exhibited here. It will only be a matter of time before they fix the problem. Security is ever evolving, it has to be.

Third, just because a lock is high security doesn't mean it can't be defeated. All can be defeated through means that use a bit of finesse and study or enough brute force. It just comes down to the amount of time it takes to do so. There is still the aspect of key control and resistance to brute force attacks (when properly installed) that make some high security locks [like the M3] better security than some other options. It just depends on how the lock is being attacked.

Finally, the Medeco3 lock, even with its flaw, is still more secure than the low-end Schlage, Kwickset, and Masterlocks the majority of America uses to secure their homes, buildings, ect. That's the part that scares most people.

The thing to learn from this is that the best way to keep things secure is to do your research and use layered security. If someone wants to get into something bad enough, they'll probably find a way to do it. Therefore, the best you can hope for is deterring them, slowing them down, and/or finding a way to catch them in the act.

On a side note, if you want to learn more about locks and security check out this forum: http://www.lockpicking101.com/ Alternately, if you find yourself in Las Vegas this summer check out DEFCON 17 (which is a convention revolving around hacking and security). It's expensive to get in (a bit over $100 per person, IIRC), but it's an eye opening experience.

Locks and security is like a hobby of mine. The locksmith my father used to use for his rental properties would have to shoo me away because I would hover right over his shoulder watching everything he did. Finally, at around age 8 I was taught how to pick a basic masterlock padlock, and I was hooked. They're like little mechanical puzzles.