Criminals Find New Uses for 3D Printing | PCWorld - 2 views
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D printers--desktop devices that can print out objects as easily as your home inkjet prints out documents--are getting less expensive and more common every day, and they promise to revolutionize manufacturing in the same way that desktop printing revolutionized publishing.
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Unfortunately, though the promise of 3D printing is great, we've also begun to see glimpses of its dark side as criminals--and average citizens who are up to no good--think up dangerous and creepy new uses for 3D printed material.
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used his 3D printer to create a key to unlock handcuffs carried by the Dutch police. Startlingly, he was able to measure and reproduce the key accurately by using nothing more than a photograph of the key hanging from the belt of a police officer plus some basic math to gauge its size.
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"s your home inkjet prints out documents--are getting less expensive and more common every day, and they promise to revolutionize manufacturing in the same way that desktop printing revolutionized publishing. I've written elsewhere about how we're at the start of a 3D printing revolution. In the past year, people have used 3D printing to tackle everything from spare parts to entire cars to blood vessels. It seems as though a new use for 3D printing emerges every week. Unfortunately, though the promise of 3D printing is great, we've also begun to see glimpses of its dark side as criminals--and average citizens who are up to no good--think up dangerous and creepy new uses for 3D printed material. How About Your Car Key? When people can replicate any object with ease, you soon realize that there are plenty of objects you don't want replicated. Obvious examples are the keys to your home, office, and car--yet savvy 3D printer owners have already how to do just that: Measure the key, build a 3D model, and print away to produce cheap copies. If you're the rightful owner, the technology gives you a hassle-free way to generate backup keys, but the process can go terribly wrong. For instance, a member of a German lock-picking group, Sportsfreunde Der Sperrtechnik - Deutschland e.V., used his 3D printer to create a key to unlock handcuffs carried by the Dutch police. Startlingly, he was able to measure and reproduce the key accurately by using nothing more than a photograph of the key hanging from the belt of a police officer plus some basic math to gauge its size. Afterward, he not only printed out a copy of the key to test, but also put the model up online for anyone to print. A 3D-printed key that can open Dutch police handcuffs. The key was just a proof of concept by an enthusiastic amateur and hasn't been used in the commission of any actual crimes, but real criminals have discovered 3D printers, too. In September 2011, a gang was prosecuted after stealing more than
