YEGG (yeg)
A
thief, especially a burglar or safecracker
Common clues:
Safecracker;
Slangy safecracker; Vault cracker; Skilled felon; Burglar;
Peterman; Cracksman; Safe robber, slangily; Safe-cracking
crook
Crossword
puzzle frequency:
once a year
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Safe-cracking is the process of opening a safe, generally without the authorization or knowledge of the safe's owner. It may also refer to a computer hacker's attempts to break into a secured computer system.
Different procedures may be used to crack a safe, depending on its construction.
The most surreptitious way of cracking a safe is to manipulate the lock in order to obtain the combination required to open the safe without actually damaging the safe.
A safe may be compromised surprisingly often by guessing the combination. This results from the fact that manufactured safes often come with a manufacturer-set combination. This combination is designed to allow the owner initial access to the safe so that they may set their own new combination. Often the new owner will not change the initial combination, so a knowledge of the manufacturer's set combinations may enable access to a safe.
Most safes are susceptible to compromise by drilling or other physical methods. Manufacturers publish drill-point diagrams for specific models of safe. These are tightly guarded by both the manufacturers and locksmithing professionals. Drilling is usually aimed at gaining access to the safe by observation or bypass of the locking mechanism. Drilling is the most common method used by locksmiths, and is the only method that can be used in cases of burglary attempts, malfunctioning locks or damaged locks.
Other methods of cracking a safe generally involve damaging the safe so that it is no longer functional. These methods may involve explosives or other devices to inflict severe force and damage the safe so it may be opened. This method requires care as the contents of the safe may be damaged. Safe-crackers can use what are known as jam shots to blow off the safe's doors.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Safe-cracking".
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