In a recent J6 case it has been revealed that Liberty Safe Co. gave the FBI background access codes to the safe and vault owned by the investigative target of the FBI, Nathan Hughes.
As the story is told, the FBI (federal govt) contacted the safe manufacturer and asked for a secret code that would open the safe. The FBI had a search warrant for the premises. Liberty Safe Co. gave the FBI the access code that would allow them to open the safe, without relying on (or asking) the owner to open it.
Of course, Liberty Safe [irony alert] tried to weasel out of it, but as Sundance puts it:
This is a ridiculous position easily avoided by saying, “we don’t own the safe.” The bottom line is to avoid all the Liberty Safe products that allow them to access your private holdings, including gun safes and personal papers. If you own a Liberty Safe, just get rid of it. It’s compromised. Write it off to a lesson learned and forget about it.
I only use safes with a keyed lock, for more or less this precise reason.
The the company that owns Liberty Safe is a bigtime Democrat donator.
Sucks. For those of us that own liberty safes what can be done? Change locks? Change combos?
And. I’m sure other companies would do the same.
Corporate scumbags only care about money, not the constitution. No matter what press releases they might have some fancy writer draft and release.
I hope liberty safe goes out of business.
And I know I posted this the other day – but it bears reminding – this Jan 6 bullshit is going way too far. This really feels like the government is going the route of “tell a lie enough times and people will believe it”
Interesting – Enrique Tarrio – was convicted and sentenced to 22 years for his “role” in a “riot” he wasn’t even present for…
“Tarrio was not in Washington, D.C., at the time of the riot, having been arrested by federal authorities for a separate investigation two days prior. “
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/former-proud-boys-leader-enrique-tarrio-sentenced-22-years-jan-6-attack
Sounds like the govt wants to scare people into never ever questioning an election, even if a mental vegetable “wins”.
From what I understand, a different electronic lock can be installed. If you have a mechanical dial lock, you can hire a locksmith to change the combination for you. If you have key access, you can change the lock.
JQ
Mechanical. I hate electronic locks on safes
To each their own if people like electronic. And some stuff is only available in electronic.
I agree with you electronic locks. I prefer mechanical as well.
JQ
Electronic locks need . . . Electricity, or at least a battery.
If they are connected to the grid (mains to our allies among the British), a power surge can “brick” the system, as easily as it can brick your TV or major kitchen appliance ;).
A Lightning strike will do the same.
An EMP from whatever source will, too.
In my opinion a keyed lock or a combination lock is the best choice.
It’s not in the article, but it was an electronic lock, there’s no “secret code” for the S&G dial combination locks. Ditching an expensive gun safe, even if made by these assholes, is not viable for most folks. Replace the lock with a Sargent & Greenleaf Group 2 lock and you’re G2G. It’s not hard at all, videos on it are available, and if you are nervous about it you may find someone at a local gun club who will help you. I’ve done it twice on mine with no problem (once to replace original with electronic, then to replace the electronic with an S&G again, when I thought better about it. Last resort, a local safe dealer can do the job.
My second gun safe is a Sturdy Safe. Not as pretty as some but the most security (thicker steel, more precise door fitting) you can get for the dollar out there. And a patriotic, family-owned business. Mine is bolted to the garage slab and I had a wood cabinet built over it so it’s not visible when the garage door is up.
https://www.sturdysafe.com/
They are awesome safes! The owner discourages electronic locks in favor of the S&G 6700 series mechanical locks.
Cheers,
JC
S&G. Sargent and Greenleaf! If their locks are good enough for government work they want to keep secret from citizens, it’s good enough for me.
And I am taking the Sturdysafe endorsement to heart.
As much as I sometimes disagree with JKB over at Gun Free Zone, he made a few good points. This whole mess is largely cooked up. Aside from learning that the owners of the company are lefties (which will hurt new sales), there’s no real reason for existing owners to panic (unless they want to sell me their used safe at a ridiculously low price). The primary purpose of the safe is to foil common street level smash and grab crooks and keep kids from accessing daddy’s guns. There’s some additional protection if you get the fire-safe type, but other than that? Anyone with an angle grinder and time can get into one. Sometimes it takes a lot of time, but it can be done. If the govt wants to get in, it’ll get in. Remember, this is the same govt that’ll take a police-issue killdozer and destroy half your house just so the poor po-po can go home alive at the end of their shift. You really think after destroying your house and covering half the block with tear gas they’re gonna balk at bringing in an industrial grade angle grinder?
You’re still protected from smash and grab moment of opportunity type thefts. And Liberty (or whoever) having a backdoor code will allow my children to open my $10k safe to access my gun collection (without destroying it) after I’m dead and no one can find the combo. If I had a safe. Or guns. Really haven’t rebuilt my collection after that unfortunate canoe trip.
Remember, everyone is bitching and moaning about Liberty safe giving up the combo is falling for a distraction. What we should really be up in arms about (and everyone here knows it, I’m sure) is the fucking govt going after small time FFL’s and destroying what’s left of the kitchen table gun business. The BATFE-BFYTW is illegal, unconstitutional, and out of fucking control.
Your mostly right on many points however – You’re off base slightly on the who cares about liberty point.
I don’t want any company willingly giving up any of my info to the govt.
If I know there is a company giving my info to the govt willingly without putting at least some reasonable roadblocks to protect the customer (please send your warrant to our legal dept) – then I am not going to give my hard earned money to that business.
Doesn’t matter if the govt can break in using a Skeleton key or an angle grinder (which is easy anyways)
the real point is I don’t want the company I spent money with making it easier for and even helping the govt fuck citizens up their ass.
Oh and how come when some asshole maniac does something crazy – the govt usually had warnings about the individual and did nothing.
Yet someone who questioned an election or marched on public property is the most evil person ever.
Does anyone with a working brain cell really believe that the mental midget received 81 million votes legitimately?
Recommend everyone take a deep breath. All said above is true but I saw this post by the maker of the electronic locks themselves. You can trash the codes inside the lock very easily. Hence issue resolved. BTW, I wouldn’t be surprised if S&G or The safe company has the combos. If a thing has a serial number someone has all the detail regards it.
https://youtu.be/s4jRmhCXERw?si=L59gqcLI1Njxd5Jo
Yeah, I know. I don’t agree with Liberty giving up the info without a full warrant and legal review. I probably won’t be doing business with Liberty directly (although I’d not hesitate to buy a used safe for the right price). I believe it’s important for us to know which gun related companies out there are really run by anti-gun management. After all, we need to spend our money wisely. That’s all important. But that’s the small issue.
The big issue is what the govt is doing to its own citizens. And I agree, no way the senile old pedophile got 81 million votes. In my opinion the entirety of the govt is, at present, illegitimate due to the 2020 election fraud. Top to bottom. And then some.
coffeeMan,
You’re right. If the company folded like that, then how long before they just willingly send the master combinations to the government without being prompted by the Gubmint?
Is there one master code for all of the locks?
JQ
I have been in the process of changing my Liberty Safe to an electronic entry safe because the spinner mechanism is a PITA
What Liberty has done is an outrage
It has undoubtedly irreparably obliterated its reputation with its most important target client group
Most of us will never, ever purchase a Liberty safe again
This is a Bud Light moment with the caveat that we gun/pro-2A people don’t forgive and forget
This will be fun to watch
Ironically, Liberty could have told the FBI to go to Hell, make it’s response widely known (e.g., by granting an interview with Bearing Arms or someone at Fox or Newsmax), and very vocally resisting any BS discovery by the FBI
That would have garnered the undying support of the firearms community
Its demise will be fun to witness
Corporate shit bags only care about money.
They hire copy writers to come up with word patterns that hopefully confuse or capture the minds and hearts of their consumers, and hope that people will must buy their products.
Fuck Liberty Safe. Unfortunately I own one. And I can’t afford to ditch it.
But if anyone ever asks me if I would buy another, the answer is Fuck to the no.
Ironically as people have stated above, the money likely will stop flowing soon to Liberty safe.
Maybe Dylan Mulvaney can be a spokesMAN for Liberty safes just like HE is for bud light.
Slogan could be
– this PUD’s for you, I lock all my tampons in this secure safe and ONLY THE FBI and I have access.
This might help folks address their security needs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5NefgjI49A&t=1171s
JQ
UPDATE to fixing problem. No need to change to a mechanical lock. It’s been years since I had my S&G 6120 (probably on your Liberty if you have electronic lock), but it’s the “Master Code” that always opens the safe and is used so the operator can add or delete user codes. You can change the master code yourself no removal of the lock or gunsmith services required. See instructions for the 6120 here. Just don’t lose the Master Code!!
https://sargentandgreenleaf.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Operation_Instructions_6120-1.pdf
Re: Combo locks being a PITA, I suppose that may be true if you don’t often open your safe. I got comfortable with them in the military, and my son and I are constantly in/out of our gun safe, and both of us can open it in less than 20 seconds. *hang on*
I just got up, started my stopwatch on my phone and had my safe open in 10.3 seconds. And I wasn’t trying to be particularly competitive, just a normal opening. Practice makes perfect.
Still, anyone with reasonable eye-hand coordination should be able to open one easily in less than 20 seconds even without the level of practice I have. Electronics are easy, I guess being able to change codes or give different codes to different people so you can remove a user without changing everyone else’s code has some value. But my son and I are the only ones using the safes and we love the mechanical lock. And dropping the opening time from 10.3 to, say, 3 seconds, just is not important to me, but YMMV.
If you have a Liberty safe, download those instructions and change your Master Code, so Liberty does not have it. And I agree the FBI is gonna get into your safe regardless, if they want to, but fuck Liberty. Would love to see them go the way of Budweiser, lol.
I am very happy that people are now thinking about the intrinsic insecurity of master keys held by parties outside of their control which not can, not might, but WILL BE HANDED OUT LIKE CANDY to their adversaries. (This also pertains to physical keys, including biometrics that can be mentioned in warrants. Court hold that pressing fingers into locks and showing your phone to your face are all perfectly OK things for their agents to do and 4A consistent, whereas torturing you for passwords is not OK, and not 5A consistent.)
Now everyone, say that all slowly, again, and consider how many OTHER insecure 3rd party master keys you have allowed to creep into your lives. Into you laptops. Into your phones. Into your cars. Into your IOT devices. Into your cloud (remember folks, the cloud is just someone else’s computer) backed document and compute services. It’s the 21st century, and your digital integrity is every bit as important as your physical/meat integrity.
Now there are folks who are of the opinion that this doesn’t matter, that defeat is innevitable, that a government level actor can get in eventually with a plasma torch and if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear.
U don’t subscribe to that. Your secrets are ~yours~, to hold as defiantly as YOU, not someone else determines. Make them pay the price: make them risk their fingers, eyballs and limbs with angle grinders and plasma torches.
It’s not widely acknowledged, but there are still standing rewards out for anyone who can crack any of a collection of 19th and 20th century mechanical safes that reside somewhere in the FBI basement, confiscated persuant to warrants that the fed goverment still cannot access without destroying the evidence within, because no one ever beat the locks.
The manufacturer’s sticker on my safe reads “EKR”. Erik K. Ronning. He had a business building gun safes in his garage back in the early 1990’s. Kim, it’s the one you saw. Mechanical dial lock, 3,2,1 combo, keyed to random bits of my personal info. Dial has a key lock within that can be used as “day lock” for convenience whereby only a key is needed to open the door. It’s a feature I rarely use. As already noted, I can spin the combo in about 10 seconds.
Their reputation is absolutely ruined. They gave away a matter code with no legal or moral imperative to do so. They betrayed the public trust in their company by maintaining master codes in the first place and then providing it to an outside source.
If they desire to regain their reputation, then I suggest publically firing and blacklisting everyone involved, along with replacing every lock at their own expense to include installation.
Unless there is more to the story, they gave it away quicker than the town roundheels ever would.
My whole property is a gun safe and it has not been compromised in any way for over 50 years. Fuck with THAT, Liberty!