Access to house and garage: key vs code keypad vs fingerprint

Half forgotten. I also read about it, but I rather assigned it to the business sector and didn’t know it was also used privately. What I still don’t understand: Where do you see the advantages of the system? I would have thought it combines the disadvantages of a key (you have to carry something that you can also forget) with the disadvantages of fingerprint/code (you need a motor lock/much more expensive). So where are the advantages compared to a normal key?

Advantages compared to keys: • lost tokens can be easily deprogrammed. • work in all weather (unlike some fingerprint systems), • very small and light, there are different shapes & colors (key fobs, code cards (like bank cards or similar), bracelets. • the door lock doesn’t get scratched even if you "fumble drunk at the lock". • locking process faster than keys (hold up, door springs open). • inexpensive as an add-on module (the RFID half-module cost me "only" about €45 (HEK) extra in my system) • secure. Only disadvantage: more expensive in the overall package with motor lock (it’s comfort, but I wouldn’t call it luxury) I have tokens on every keychain and on my phone (card). Also one with my daughter (she lives only about 100m away ;) ) and with the neighbor (my nephew)

Here it already starts. How many false positives do we have? How much does the risk increase between one finger from one person and one finger from several people with multiple fingers (one can also sometimes be under a bandage...)? This is absolutely not assessable since what actually happens is often kept secret. The only thing that is clear is that since fingerprints are not always the same (wet, dirty, etc., but also the finger is held differently) a system has to allow quite a lot. On top of that, a valid fingerprint is probably already on the door handle, you have to touch the door somehow.

I no longer have it on hand, but I also once researched the topic of security. The conclusion of my research back then was that the classic key is the most insecure method. The background was, if I remember correctly:

[*] A door without a motor lock is only really "locked" when it is locked again with the key. A door with a motor lock is always locked as soon as it closes. [*] The majority of burglars in single-family houses operate very rudimentarily, with crowbars and not with technical approaches (bypassing/hacking etc.). [*] Modern fingerprint sensors only recognize real living fingers. [*] A key can also be lost unnoticed (in contrast to a finger). [*] A key can be relatively easily duplicated and/or stolen (the craftsman who had one to get in himself, the neighbor to water the flowers during vacation, friends/family members with emergency keys). With other access technologies it can be programmatically set simply that the craftsman only has access for this week and the finger cannot be so easily stolen ;).

Modern fingerprint sensors only recognize real living fingers.

So much for the theory. Practice repeatedly shows otherwise.

The majority of burglars breaking into single-family homes are very rudimentary, using crowbars and not technical approaches (bypassing/hacking etc.).

That may be true. My main criticism therefore referred to the lack of transparency about how many fingers are recognized even though they shouldn't be. I wouldn't dismiss the hacking approaches, however, in case you happen to be a more attractive target.

the finger cannot be stolen that easily ;).

That reminds me of a scene from Shoot 'em Up where the protagonist is out of ammo, but the bad guys' weapons are equipped with a fingerprint lock. "Nothing beats good old manual labor" ;) The classic key has the big weakness that it can simply be copied, and that naturally makes it insecure in theory. That's why you don't give it to everyone, especially not strangers (keyword: craftsmen). The emergency key with the brother-in-law won't be hanging on the keychain but somewhere at home in a cabinet. So the risk of loss is not the same as with your personal key that you need every day. Overall, the key performs significantly better in practice than in theory; moreover, it is inexpensive and reliable.

I no longer have it on hand, but I once researched the topic of security. The conclusion of my research at the time was that the classic key is the most insecure method. The background was, if I remember correctly:

[*]A door without a motor lock is only really "locked" when it is additionally locked with the key. A door with a motor lock is always locked immediately when it closes. [*]Most burglars in single-family homes operate in a very rudimentary way, using crowbars and not technical approaches (bypassing/hacking, etc.). [*]Modern fingerprint sensors recognize only real living fingers. [*]A key can also be lost unnoticed (unlike a finger). [*]A key can be relatively easily duplicated and/or stolen (the craftsman who had one to get in himself, the neighbor to water the plants during vacation, friends/family members with an emergency key). With other access techniques, it can be programmatically set so that the craftsman only has access for this week, and a finger can't be stolen that easily ;).

That sounds like a fingerprint lock manufacturer's argument list. Our security keys can't be easily copied, as we have found out several times thanks to careless family members. You can't just take a key to the locksmith in the hardware store and say, make five new ones. THAT is currently the only reason for me to move away from key systems. The cost and effort to order new keys. Oh, and the broken key that made a complete replacement of the apartment door lock necessary. :)

The classic key has the big weakness that it can simply be copied, which of course makes it insecure in theory. That’s why it’s not given to just anyone, especially not strangers (keyword craftsmen). The emergency key at the brother-in-law’s won’t be hanging on a keychain there either but will be somewhere at home in a cupboard. So the risk of loss is not the same as with your personal key that you need every day. Overall, in practice the key performs significantly better than in theory, and besides, it is cheap and reliable.

You also can't simply copy most house keys. For ours, you need a card and a number as well. Sure, there will always be people who manage it anyway, but they might then overcome the other systems too.

I would never use codes with kids, how quickly do they pass on the code. Or they forget it themselves.

I would have found fingerprint access quite nice, but it was too expensive for the advantage it could bring us. If I’m at home, the door isn’t locked anyway, and taking the key out once a day when coming home doesn’t bother me, since the same keychain also carries the remote control for the driveway and garage doors.

[*]A door without a motor lock is only truly "locked" when it is locked again with the key. A door with a motor lock, however, is always locked immediately as soon as it closes.

That is not true. There are front door locks that automatically lock mechanically. For example, the GU-Secury Automatic. This is a lock that mechanically locks when the door is closed, can be opened from the outside with a key and at any time from the inside with the handle. It can be equipped with an A-opener. The lock is always locked when the door is closed. This is also confirmed by the insurance company.

I do not want to publicly evaluate fingerprint or similar here. It might be interesting that with some systems the number of features that have to match the stored finger can be reduced. That means the recognition threshold is lowered. Everyone should ask themselves how secure that then is.