Electronic lock breaker

An electronic lock breaker,^[3] also known as a scramble key, lottery key, or luckbreaker,^[2] was a type of security tampering device^[1] that could bypass electronic locks that required a password or code input to open a door.^[3]

Description

An electronic lock breaker in use by posing as members of the . — An electronic lock breaker in use by Imperial spies posing as members of the New Republic.

The electronic lock breaker was a high-memory capacity computer coupled with a key-code replicator input/output jack.^[3] The devices were capable of breaking through most standard electronic locks.^[4] The I/O jack was plugged directly into a door lock and a polynomial computation was "spiked" into the lock's security system. The polynomial computation effectively distracted the lock's computer and prevented the system from recognizing the slicing attempt. At the same time, a secondary program rapidly flashed access code combinations into the lock's systems until it found a match.^[3] The electronic lock breaker was also capable of targeting locks that were secured by a genetic code. The slicing program randomly cycled through gene-sequence codes until the correct one was discovered once the polynomial was deployed.^[5] The lock breaker could take several hours to break through a lock, although they could be pre-programmed with the computer architecture and code sequences from a target lock to cut down the time needed.^[3]

It was claimed that electronic lock breakers often found the correct code faster then it could input them, and experienced operators could tell when this happened by faint buzzing or vibrations from the device. This allowed the operator to manually input a code they believed was correct before the device cycled it through the locking system. This method could be less effective, but save valuable time if the guess was correct.^[2]

A variety of models of electronic lock breaker were available, ranging from simple models aimed at breaking through civilian locks, all the way up to devices that could breach military-grade security.^[6] Specific models of electronic lock breaker included OutlawTech's Lock Breaker^[3] and Locris Syndicated Securities' "Skeleton Key" Locksmith's Tool.^[6]

History

Jango Fett owned an electronic lock breaker with code algorithm selectors.^[7] During the Galactic Civil War, Finn Darktrin used an electronic lock breaker to break into an Imperial shuttle.^[8]