MythBusters Take on 6 Security Myths from Hollywood Movies

This post is originally authored at the home security blog at FamilyHomeSecurity.com.

Hollywood movies have been the source for an incredible number of popular myths. Did you know that silencers don’t turn handguns into stealthy spy weapons? Did you know that shooting the gas tank on a car may not make a huge explosion? Did you know that Piranhas will not always attack a human that invades their aquatic space? Here are a few of the security-related myths that were tested by Mythbusters on the Discovery Channel.

Disclaimer: These myths and techniques are shared only to help you better understand the vulnerabilities of your security equipment (and because some of them are pretty amazing!). These video clips are of trained professionals, and you should never attempt to try any of these experiments at home!

Is it Possible to Outsmart a Motion Sensor?

In movies featuring a heist, the thieves often are able to bypass the motion sensors with sophisticated technology. How much tech would it take to really be able to beat a motion sensor?

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Answer: In this situation, it was possible to beat the motion sensor simply by holding up a white sheet when walking past the sensor. Also, the motion sensor was able to be beaten simply by moving extremely slowly through the detection range of the sensor. It’s possible (though not tested in the video) that a higher quality motion sensor would be able to pick up a slow-moving person, or someone hiding behind a sheet. The “scatter” suit (a furry suit  made of a cut-up rug) wasn’t able to beat the motion sensor!

Can You Really Beat a Fingerprint Lock?

In Hollywood, a fingerprint lock can easily be beaten by gluing fake fingerprints to a hand. With today’s sophisticated fingerprint locks, what would it really take to be able to fool the lock into opening for you?

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Answer: Yes, apparently you can beat a fingerprint lock with a ballistics gel “finger”. A latex impression of a fingerprint glued to a finger is also able to foil the lock. In addition to this, the lock seems to be able to be beaten with a simple photocopy of a fingerprint! However, in order for the photocopy to work, the original print needed to be “fixed” (the fingerprint lines filled in with marker) and the paper needed to be licked before being applied to the fingerprint lock.

Can You Shoot off a Padlock?

In many popular movies, a hero (or villain)  is able to easily shoot off a padlock with a handgun. Is this really possible?

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Answer: Yes, you can shoot a padlock off of a door. However, something as small as a handgun isn’t able to damage the lock enough so that it can be removed. In this experiment, it took the power of a shotgun (or a high-powered rifle) to break the padlock. Since this is an extremely noisy way to beat a padlock, it wouldn’t be practical for a thief to use while attempting to beat a lock.

Can You “Freeze” Locks with Liquid Nitrogen?

Liquid nitrogen has made for some interesting (and very explosive!) scenes in popular movies. Can you really freeze a lock off of a door?

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Answer: Freezing a lock with liquid nitrogen does make the lock easier to break through with brute force. The reason for this is that the particles in metal are constantly in motion. When you simply use brute force to break a lock, you’re essentially “malforming” the metal, and moving around the particles. However, when exposed to liquid nitrogen, the particles in the metal freeze in place, and move much slower. This makes the metal brittle, and makes it much easier to break through the lock by using brute force. The metal doesn’t “shatter” into pieces (like in some popular movies), but it does become vulnerable at certain points.

Can You Blow the Door off a Safe by Filling it with Water?

A glass relocking safe implements additional locks if the delicate glass behind the door is broken. In one e popular movie, a glass relocker safe was beaten by filling it with water and detonating an explosive. Is this possible?

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Answer: Yes, filling a safe with water does allow you to blow the door off. The reason that this works, is because the water does not compress when the explosive inside the safe detonates. When the explosion occurs, this creates dynamic energy that pushes evenly on all walls of the safe. Since the door of the safe represents the point where the safe would have the greatest structural weakness, this causes the door to be blown off. If you detonated an explosive inside of a safe without water, the air would simply compress, and there wouldn’t be enough pressure buildup to blow the door off the safe. However, for this to work, the safe has to be completely water-tight, and an explosive has to be lowered into the safe through the top. Also, the force of the explosion usually causes the contents of the safe to suffer extreme damage, making it not the best option for a heist.

Can You Climb An Air Duct With Magnets?

In some movies (such as “Firetrap”) the hero is able to stealthily climb up an air duct vent with magnets, granting access to an otherwise secure building. Is this really possible?

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Answer: Yes, it’s possible to climb up a vent using magnets. However, it’s so incredibly noisy, that it wouldn’t be practical for any would-be thief to attempt. If someone heard that much clanging coming from their air duct, the intruders would be in cuffs before they were able to reach their destination!

Top photo source: http://www.pitchengine.com/brands/timewarnercableofthenortheast/images/100732/mythbusters2.jpg

All video content is copyright and the property of the Discovery Channel.