32 • SAFELOCKS
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EN 1300 – Unlocking
the standard
»»SAFELOCK SYSTEMS LTD IS A
distributor of high security locks for safes
and secure storage units. The company
stocks high security locks from EN
1300 manufacturers such as LAGARD,
Tecnosicurezza, KABA, Stuv and
Wittkopp. Joint-directors Jasmine HuntBrown and brother Tony Brown talk about
the what the standard means…
STANDARDS. SAFE STANDARDS.
LOCK STANDARDS.
Standards are almost (but not quite)
as impenetrable and as indecipherable
as the safes and codes locking away our
assets. Once all the acronyms, numbers,
documents and dates are stripped away,
there is one simple fact that remains:
Standards are there for a reason. To
quote the BSI, standards are “the distilled
wisdom of people with expertise in their
subject matter”.
EN 1300 IS THE CLASSIFICATION
FOR HIGH SECURITY LOCKS
ACCORDING TO THEIR RESISTANCE
TO UNAUTHORIZED OPENING.
THE STANDARD WAS FIRST
PUBLISHED IN 2004.
There are 4 classes of high security
lock – A, B, C, and D, where class A has
the lowest security requirement and
class D has the highest requirement.
Locks may be keylocks, mechanical
combination locks or electronic
combination locks.
The EN 1300 standard does not just
certify the level of security, but also
considers reliability. For example, every
lock must be in its normal condition after
having been unlocked and locked 10,000
times. Or a mechanical combination lock
must be operating normally after the code
has been changed 100 times.
EN 1300 REQUIREMENTS
Full and detailed information about
the classification of EN 1300 locks
is available in the British Standards
Institute publication BS EN 1300:2013,
which can be purchased directly from
BSI. The standard is also available from
other European national standards
organisations.
In very general terms, some of the
requirements are:
CODES
A minimum number of usable codes
are specified depending on class and type,
for example, a class A electronic lock must
have 80,000 usable codes.
If the code is mnemonic (remembered
rather that cut into a key) it must be
possible for it to be changed, and it can
only be changed by entry of the original
code. In most electronic locks, the manager
/ master or supervisor user can only delete
a user code, they cannot change it. It must
not be possible for any devices fitted to the
lock, such as a micro-switch, to be used to
obtain information about the code.
BLOCKING
The lock must be fitted with a blocking
device (the bolt) and where the bolt is not
moved manually, i.e. by the keypad, a key,
a knob or by the boltwork handle; there
must be a means to indicate that the lock is
secured and the code is scrambled, such
as a visual or
acoustic
signal.
LOCKSMITHJOURNAL.CO.UK | NOV/DEC 2016
KEYLOCKS
A manufacturer
cannot repeat a code (the
cut of a key), until at least 80% of
the usable codes have been used. Codes
must be chosen at random, and the code
cannot be identified by markings on the
key. The key cannot be removed from the
lock when it is in the open position, and
the key must not break under a force of
less than 2.5nm.
‘every lock must be in
its normal condition
after having been
unlocked and locked
10,000 times’
ELECTRONIC LOCKS
A Class B lock or higher with more
than 2 user codes must include an audit
facility, the number of events that must
be stored in a non-volatile memory is
dependent on the class. In class C and
D any attempt to manipulate the input
unit or keypad must be recorded in the
audit.
Any attempt to guess at codes
must be limited by a number of
attempts per hour, dependent on
class. This is normally managed by the
penalty, whereby a number of failed
attempts results in a time penalty. The
requirements specify that there must be
a means of indicating when the penalty
is active.
If the lock is powered by a battery,
a full battery must allow at least 3,000
openings. The processing unit that
handles the codes must be stored inside
the secure container – codes are always
recognised in the lock, and never in the
keypad or input unit.