Community Magazine September 2011

24 Community magazine T hey are convenient, sturdy, ubiquitous and, until recently, they were thought to be secure. But now it has been revealed that the popular five button push button combination locks from Kaba, one of the world’s biggest lock manufacturers, can be opened with a simple magnet. Kaba’s Simplex series of door locks can be found around the country in hotels, banks, hospitals, fire departments, casinos, office buildings and airports. The product has become especially popular in the Orthodox Jewish community, as it allows a door to be locked and unlocked without a key, offering an effective way to work around the problem of carrying keys on Shabbat. But with the discovery that they can be bypassed with a mere swipe of a powerful magnet, hundreds of thousands of lock owners need to reconsider the security of locations with these locks installed. A Stroke of Bad Lock “The industry has been aware of this type of issue,” said Simcha Schonfeld, a partner in Koss and Schonfeld, the firm that is representing clients suing Kaba as a part of what’s known as a multi-district litigation, the consolidation of lawyers from several states representing many parties making the same claim. Kaba reported that it only learned of this security vulnerability in August 2010, around four months before the lock design was changed and they began offering an upgrade kit. At the time, the company did not say why an upgrade was urgently necessary. “Whether Kaba knew, how much they knew and when, we can discover in the court case,” said Schonfeld. “We can hope they are taking a harder look at their designs.” According to legal documents, Kaba failed to notify customers or retailers of the defects, and did not recall the product. Even after the news of the defect broke, many customers are using the locks without being aware of the grave security risk. As for the “fix kit,” as he called it, Schonfeld maintained that even if the upgrade works perfectly, one shouldn’t attempt to retool the mechanism without professional help, warning that “people may not do it right and could expose themselves to greater risk.” A spokesperson from Kaba could not be reached for comment despite numerous attempts. Locked in a Legal Battle Kaba countered in court that “any thief, even the clumsiest, can use a sledge hammer, a pry bar, or bolt cutter to bypass essentially any lock.” This line of defense provides little comfort for the plaintiffs filing suit. They have noted that whereas forced entry – such as the type described by Kaba – leaves a trail for police, covert entry using a magnet leaves no trace of evidence. And insurance companies will not cover stolen items if there is no evidence of forced entry. In court documents, Kaba also advanced the claim that a specialized, rare magnet was required to tamper with the locks. However, since early this year, various investigative reports have shown how easy it was to obtain the right magnet that can trip open the locks with little effort. Kaba also claimed in court documents that the company never advertised or warranted their products to be impenetrable. Yet, in their advertisements and literature they tout the product as working “just like regular locks” and “designed to control access to secure areas.” Lawyers representing the plaintiffs have said in court documents that those who purchased the locks had a reasonable expectation that it wouldn’t be so simple to override the security mechanism. A Hot Button Issue Akiva Panelas, who has worked as a construction and home engineer for four decades, has installed many of these push- button locks in Lakewood in recent years. Now he recommends against them until the company demonstrates conclusively that the lock mechanism is made of something that is unaffected by strong magnetic fields. The most reliable, dependable locks suitable for Shabbat use, he reckons, are real estate lock boxes – the type seen on homes for show by realtors that have no history of break-ins. “I’ve never heard of anyone having any problems with these.” In terms of compensation for his clients, Schonfeld said that Kaba should, at a minimum, pick up whatever cost is associated in repairing each lock. The residential versions of the originals can sell for up to $400; the industrial versions up to $1,000. Legal teams on either side haven’t yet been able to settle the matter. “Right now there hasn’t been a meeting of the minds,” said Schonfeld. “There’s profound implications for all sorts of sensitive facilities. We don’t want it to drag on longer than necessary. We don’t want our clients’ safety to be compromised. Neither do we want our clients bearing a burden or a cost they did not create.” DAVE GORDON An urgent security risk is revealed by a design defect in popular “Shabbat” locks.