{"id":2207,"date":"2011-09-15T14:26:20","date_gmt":"2011-09-15T13:26:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.mentor.com\/colinwalls\/?p=2207"},"modified":"2026-03-26T16:35:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T20:35:49","slug":"keys-and-locks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/embedded-software\/2011\/09\/15\/keys-and-locks\/","title":{"rendered":"A key to success"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A while ago, I had all the windows and doors in my house replaced. Hopefully the improved insulation and low maintenance will all prove beneficial over time &#8211; they certainly look smart. The house has three external doors: the front door, a side door and some French windows [which are really doors &#8211; why do we call them windows?]. In talking with the installer, I ascertained that, if I paid a little extra, I could have identical locks fitted to all three doors. I thought this was very worthwhile for the added convenience. So now, I just have two keys on my key-ring &#8211; the house and my car &#8211; and I can come and go freely.<\/p>\n<p>But, of course, it is not that simple. There are other keys: garden sheds, bicycle, my partner&#8217;s car, other houses to which I have access &#8211; the list goes on. And then I had an idea &#8230;<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>When I was last buying a car, one model that I looked at featured a contactless lock. You simply needed the key in your pocket and, while you were in close proximity of the car, it would open and start without fuss. I thought that was very cool and it might easily have swung me towards that car, if everything else had been equal. But this got me thinking about keys and locks.<\/p>\n<p>Would it not be possible to have such a contactless key that not only gave me access to my car, but to the house as well. I could just wear it around my neck and always have it with me. I visualize a system where each individual has a unique key to which they also have a numeric code [for those who know about such things, this code would be the public key to an public\/private key encryption system]. Thus, the owner of any lock could, using the codes, instruct their locks to respond to any number of keys.<\/p>\n<p>This has numerous implications. With one of these key\/lock systems, I could:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Access my house.<\/li>\n<li>Access my car.<\/li>\n<li>Access my employers premises [all over the world].<\/li>\n<li>Access other cars and houses if their owners permit &#8211; this might be for a temporary period, like when one rents a car or a hotel room or a holiday cottage.<\/li>\n<li>Give guests temporary access to my house.<\/li>\n<li>Gain access to my computer and to secured websites.<\/li>\n<li>Get money from an ATM [with a PIN too, of course].<\/li>\n<li>Validate my identity [at passport control perhaps].<\/li>\n<li>Be recognized as a valid ticket holder on trains, planes etc.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The possibilities are endless. Such a key would be a secure way for the owner of any resource to gives controlled access to any number of specific people.<\/p>\n<p>What I have described would fundamentally change our lives for the better, providing greater convenience and extra security. The technology required exists and is actually quite mature. Could such a system be hacked? Yes, of course it could. But do you really think your house\/car\/bank are totally secure? So, why can I not buy such a system right now?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A while ago, I had all the windows and doors in my house replaced. Hopefully the improved insulation and low&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":71677,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spanish_translation":"","french_translation":"","german_translation":"","italian_translation":"","polish_translation":"","japanese_translation":"","chinese_translation":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[302],"industry":[],"product":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-2207","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-off-topic"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/embedded-software\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2207","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/embedded-software\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/embedded-software\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/embedded-software\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/71677"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/embedded-software\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2207"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/embedded-software\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2207\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9998,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/embedded-software\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2207\/revisions\/9998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/embedded-software\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/embedded-software\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2207"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/embedded-software\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2207"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/embedded-software\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=2207"},{"taxonomy":"product","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/embedded-software\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product?post=2207"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/embedded-software\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=2207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}