daihard 

I work in IT as well. I don't necessarily think this is a great idea, but I won't brush it off as a terrible one, either. This system can work well when a single lock needs to be shared by multiple users (such as in a bike share program).

Looigi

Agree. The technology can be sound. Though I have no need or use for bike U-lock, much less a keyless one, others may and might also find a keyless feature has utility for them. I really didn't need keyless entry and ignition in my car either, but it came with it (as most do nowadays) and I do find it a nice convenience.

Coluber42

In the case of bike locks, it seems to me that the question is not so much whether the system *can* be defeated, but whether a bike thief will bother to defeat it. If there were tons of bluetooth locks all over the place, bike thieves would probably find a way to defeat them. If it's rare enough that most of the time when you use it you're the only one, it's probably a reasonable system provided that the actual shackle is also harder to break than average. But at that point, it probably isn't better than any other equally strong lock that has a key. Aside from those barrel-shaped keys (that Kryptonite doesn't use anymore) where you could open the lock with a Bic pen and no knowledge of lock picking whatsoever, most of the time when someone actually breaks through a bike lock they actually cut or pry it open. If the shackle can be quickly defeated with a hacksaw, angle grinder, crowbar, etc, it doesn't matter in the slightest how ironclad the encryption is.

Personally, I always have my keyring in my pocket and I haven't forgotten my keys in years. If I lose my bike lock key, I have also lost the key to my house and am therefore fairly motivated to find it (or not lose it in the first place). I'd be more inclined to worry about not having my phone, because smartphones are themselves often a theft target.

daihard 

I'm like that, too. I've got two U-locks, and my two lock keys and keychain-sized garage door opener are all on one keychain, which I carry whenever I ride. OTOH, it would be nicer if I only had to carry my garage door opener and rely upon my cellphone to lock/unlock my U-locks, because I carry my cellphone with me all the time. I'd imagine there will be a garage door system controllable from mobile devices in the near future, too.

erig007

Here is what i was talking about:

New $5 device easily unlocks car doors for thieves in Winnipeg
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manito...ipeg-1.2288826

"Michael Legary is a security expert with Seccuris. He said thieves are using the $5 devices to hack into vehicles’ computer systems.

"So just like we have to worry about our computers being hacked, our cars can be hacked as well,” said Legary. “That's something we didn't have to worry about a decade ago."
The device sends an electromagnetic pulse into the vehicle, tricking it into unlocking the door, much like a keyless entry key fob."




With a classic ulock a thief will have not many other ways than to bring the tools