High-Security Locks

About high-security locks

High-security lock cylinders address the two most common professional-grade attacks against standard pin-tumbler locks: picking and key duplication. Standard residential cylinders use five spring-loaded pins that can be manipulated open by an experienced picker in under 30 seconds. High-security cylinders add mechanical features that make this attack impractical within a reasonable time window.

Medeco cylinders, manufactured in the United States since 1968, use an angled-pin system where each driver pin is cut at a specific angle in addition to the standard height. Opening the lock requires simultaneously lifting each pin stack to the shear line AND rotating each pin to the correct angular position — a combination that defeats standard picks and tension wrenches. The Medeco3 product line adds a sidebar that requires a third factor to be satisfied before the cylinder will rotate.

Mul-T-Lock was founded in Israel in 1973 and pioneered telescopic pin technology. Each pin position in a Mul-T-Lock cylinder contains a pin-within-a-pin — effectively doubling the number of shear lines an attacker must align simultaneously. Combined with hardened steel inserts at the cylinder face and patented key sections, Mul-T-Lock cylinders are widely used in embassies, financial institutions, and government facilities.

Abloy, the Finnish brand under ASSA ABLOY, takes an entirely different mechanical approach. Instead of spring-loaded pins, Abloy cylinders use a series of hardened steel discs that must rotate to specific positions for the cam to turn. There are no springs in the mechanism — eliminating the main pick attack vector entirely. The result is a pick-proof cylinder by design, and Abloy's PROTEC2 and CLIQ product lines are among the highest-rated cylinders available worldwide.

All three cylinder families use restricted key systems. Key blanks are controlled by the manufacturer and only cut by authorized dealers. Key duplication requires presenting original factory authorization documentation, making it impossible for unauthorized parties to obtain working copies at a hardware store. Our technicians are authorized installers for all three brands and can retrofit high-security cylinders into existing door preparations without changing the entire lockset.