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Safe Openings/Service

Safe openings or safe cracking refers to the process of opening a safe without either the combination or key. Opening high security safes is an extremely time consuming and difficult process. The extensive expertise and experience required in this trade almost makes it an art. The different safe lock openings procedures can be classified into two separate categories non-destructive safe cracking and destructive safe-cracking.

Lock manipulation is the most popular method of furtive or non-destructive safe cracking. In this process the lock is manipulated to obtain the combination which is then used to open the safe. This is a preferred method as there is no damage to the safe in this process. Basic or rotary combination locks can be easily manipulated by sight, touch, or sound to determine the combination. The process involves diagnostic tests on the safe dial to assess the correct position of each wheel within the lock. More sophisticated locks use wheels made from lightweight materials which render manipulation by sound or feel impossible. There are other anti-manipulation mechanisms such as serrated wheels or driver wheels.

Another method of safe manipulation is to use devices like auto dialers. These machines are specifically designed for particular kinds of locks and must cycle through thousands of combinations to open a device. They are computer operated devices that brute-force the combination of a safe. They work by either testing the entire set of possible combinations or considering the tolerances of a lock to reduce the search space dramatically. Auto dialers test factory default settings or expected combinations for the particular model of the lock and also personal information of the owner. Auto-dialers are typically considered non-invasive, but the mounting of the device could always leave forensic evidence.

In yet other methods, vibration is applied to the dial of a combination lock to coax the wheel gates to slowly rotate to their open position. A major disadvantage in using this method is the natural occurrence of vibration in the environment.

Radiological safe opening technique focuses on specific tools and devices to use penetrating radiation such as beta, gamma, ultrasound or x-ray to reveal the correct position of the internal components of a lock. Although, this technique does not reveal the exact combination a lot of times, it can dramatically reduce the number of possible combinations or the search space.

Safe openings service also offer destructive techniques such as use of micro drilling safes, explosives, and other impact methods like sawing, cutting, grinding, peeling or prying. These attacks are effective but more time and effort intensive against the non-destructive methods. The possibility of physical injury and collateral damage has restricted their use to extreme circumstances only. Modern techniques like electronic lock spiking are preferred over the destructive techniques because of their non-invasive nature.