Elevator Hacking: From the Pit to the Penthouse
DeviantOllam9 HN recommenders · 2014–2026
889K views · talk · evergreen · Uploaded 2014-08-05
Deviant Ollam's two-hour conference talk explains how elevators work, from the pit and buffers to the car top, controller logic and access-control features. It shows how this knowledge can be used for optimization and for bypassing building security.
HN commenters call it an absorbing, entertaining deep dive on elevator security and the go-to link whenever elevators come up.
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13 comments from Hacker News
> After a week of recon I found out that the 4th and 5th floors are only accessible with a very specific card via the elevator. I didn’t have that card. Even if I get to the elevator I could not go to the 5th floor See [VIDEO]
I don't know about subways, but elevators should never be a part of a building's security because they're so easy to hack[1]. [1]: [VIDEO]
And watch this[0] entire (super entertaining) talk from Hope X about elevator security. You get a pretty good feal for how the safety measures work after watching it. [0] [VIDEO]
Yes. That's the shorter censored versoion. I recommend the full 2 hour version, with all the secrets: [VIDEO] My second favourite talk: You spent all that money and your still got owned: [LINK] I even watch these again and again.
There was an elevator hacking talk that went into the buffers at the bottom of the elevator. You may have seen them in elevators that have glass on the outside of the shaft like in malls and hotels. The elevator never rests on those. Those are to take the impact of an elevator that crashes. Inspectors will often test the buffers as well as part of routine maintenance: [VIDEO]
Deviant Ollam - The Hotel Room Gourmet [LINK] Also not 2018 but his elevator with Howard Payne talk: [LINK] (1h version) [VIDEO] (2h version) And the search for the perfect door: [LINK]
Deviant Ollam does another talk with elevator consultant Howard Payne just about elevator security which is fantastic. It's very similar to this one, but goes deeper into the single subject. There are a few versions on YouTube of various lengths, but here's the 2 hour version: [VIDEO]
It is perhaps more appropriate to say the button frequently does nothing because you frequently lack the proper permissions... [VIDEO]
Relevant video discussing fire keys and other common keys: [LINK] And since this thread is about elevators, I have to also mention another video of theirs: [VIDEO]
If you're interested in elevators and the hacking thereof I would also highly recommend this talk: [VIDEO]
I ran into [VIDEO] (Elevator Hacking: From the Pit to the Penthouse) awhile back, and it was so interesting to me that I ended up watching the entire 2 hours in one sitting.
SimTower started as elevator simulator, and was then turned into a game. Also, this is a great talk if you want to know more about elevators: [VIDEO]
If you feel like going down an elevator rabbithole, Deviant Ollam has quite a few talks/videos about all sorts of niche elevator stuff. My personal favorite: [VIDEO]