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08 May 2007 SPOTD: Security Puzzle Of The Day
posted by alecm in General

Can you think like a security geek?

So: A man is going on vacation (ie: on holiday) - and he's worried about the possibility of someone breaking into his house whilst he's away; so he checks all the window locks from inside the house, steps outside, walks around the house to inspect for anything he's missed - checking that patio doors, etc, are locked - then locks his front door and drives off.

What's he done wrong? Feel free to critique. My answer will be posted tomorrow, unless it appears in the comments beforehand. :-)

ps: if you've heard me explain this before, please keep schtum. This is just for fun.

tags: puzzle security slotd thinking

Permalink | Comments [8]

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Comments:

Apparently he's assumed someone hasn't already broken in or compromised existing security already. For example, your vacation man didn't seem to check the interior for a trojan horse (stowaway) and he didn't change the locks.

Posted by Wes W. on May 08, 2007 at 01:13 PM PDT #

He should check that the front door is locked, from the inside?

(My father's old front door you could open the lock through the letterbox using a handily located small /crowbar/.)

Posted by Tom Hawtin on May 08, 2007 at 02:08 PM PDT #

While he was busy checking the windows and backdoor he left the front door unlocked!!

Posted by Andy Paton on May 08, 2007 at 02:08 PM PDT #

He hasn't checked that the iron is switched off.

He returns to find a perfectly secure but somewhat charred house. With two weeks worth of milk on the doorstep.

Posted by Tom Hawtin on May 08, 2007 at 09:22 PM PDT #

He hasn't checked the first floor?

Posted by Mark J Musante on May 09, 2007 at 06:28 AM PDT #

My first thought was that it has to relate to the "then locks his front door" i.e. he hasn't 'tested' his security from the outside in the state it will actually be in. As the other comment mentions, he ahs also left the door unlocked while checking! And the second thought was around "and drives off" - the car present/missing is a clue of his absence but I can't see much that you can do about that unless you religously use the garage (which isn't stated either way, so I supect it isn't that).

Posted by Neil on May 09, 2007 at 08:44 AM PDT #

assuming it's a single story house without any other mean of entrance except doors and windows and all access will need separate keys. so he checks all the window locks from inside the house__should check/test the locks from the outside. steps outside__How, through what?__Lock it from the outside before proceed. Checking that patio doors__How does he protect it? it's a big visual vulnerability. Does he taken steps to make like the house has someone livein__not abandon. interactive :)

Posted by Forrest on May 09, 2007 at 12:34 PM PDT #

Wow - this is impressive. I'll grab a cup of tea and compose the next post. :-)

Posted by alecm on May 09, 2007 at 12:59 PM PDT #