(TLP:CLEAR) Security Preparedness – Vulnerabilities in Commercial Electronic Locks and Considerations to Protect Sensitive Information

Summary: This week, the National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC) published a guidance bulletin, “Unlocked Threats: Counterintelligence Vulnerabilities in Commercial Electronic Locks and Considerations to Protect Sensitive Information.” The purpose of the bulletin is to help reduce the likelihood of compromise of commercial electronic locks, while reminding organizations to remain vigilant against non-traditional collectors and foreign intelligence services threats.

Analyst Note: Robust key and lock systems are essential for mitigating physical security threats at water and wastewater utilities, where unauthorized access to sensitive assets can pose serious risks to public safety and operational integrity. In fact, earlier this year, WaterISAC published the “Keys & Locks – The Overlooked Security Risk – Fact Sheet.” The Fact Sheet emphasizes that before moving away from traditional keys, ask yourself: Do you truly understand your current key system and its risks? Many organizations overlook key control, which can lead to serious vulnerabilities. If you are exploring other solutions like electronic keys or card readers, do your due diligence. These systems offer benefits such as audit trails and rapid credential revocation, but they also introduce new risks—such as cyber vulnerabilities, power outages, and system failures.

Nevertheless, electronic locks can be useful. The NCSC recommends that entities begin by investing in high-security commercial locks that resist picking, drilling, and unauthorized key duplication. Still, it’s important to understand the physical and cyber vulnerabilities associated with electronic locks. Electronic locks “often incorporate wireless communication protocols like Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and Wi-Fi, which are susceptible to well-documented vulnerabilities including signal interception, spoofing, and replay attacks. These weaknesses can enable unauthorized remote access, manipulation of lock states, or extraction of credentials through packet sniffing or brute-force techniques.” Overall, understanding how your key system is structured—whether it uses restricted keyways, master key hierarchies, or standard locks—is critical to reducing vulnerabilities.

Original Source: https://www.dni.gov/files/NCSC/documents/SafeguardingOurFuture/2026-01-16_Unlocked_Threats_V2.pdf

Additional Reading:

• (TLP:CLEAR) WaterISAC Physical Security and Resilience Advisory Committee: Keys & Locks – The Overlooked Security Risk – Fact Sheet

Related WaterISAC PIRs: 1 & 3