What Were They Thinking?!? Yale Bicentric Bypass

In this episode of “What the Heck Were They Thinking?”, the LockPickingLawyer examines the Yale Bicentric Rim cylinder, a lock designed for large institutions over a century ago. The cylinder contains two cores, either of which can open the door by itself, allowing for a massive Grand Master Key System with little compromise to security.

However, the flaw lies in the decoupling of the tail piece from both cores, creating the possibility of an easy bypass using a bypass driver. The LockPickingLawyer demonstrates just how easy it is to open the lock using this method, highlighting the significant security issue. Although the Yale Bicentric series had a competent lineup, this Rim cylinder had an egregious design flaw.

Fortunately, the lock was discontinued about 10-12 years ago, but there are still many Legacy systems out there. Watch the video for a demonstration of the bypass and a deeper understanding of the issue.