When The Washington Post published a photo of the TSA's set of master luggage keys, there were concerns that it had inadvertently compromised the agency's system by handing over details of the keys' cuts to intrepid lock-pickers. Now, that appears to be exactly what's happened, as 3D printing plans for the keys have been posted online.

As Wired reports today, that's not a trivial security problem for the agency, or for many of the people just hoping to keep their luggage safe. The TSA asks lock-makers to use designs approved by the agency, ideally keeping the luggage out of thieves' hands while still allowing the TSA access. But with the photos — and now the 3D printing plans — readily available, anyone with a 3D printer also has access.

Although the Github information was posted before being tested on an approved lock, at least one person has seemingly pulled it off in a test:

A TSA-approved lock certainly wasn't pick-proof before, if a lock-picker showed enough ingenuity, but it's an unfortunate security hole that might've just become a lot bigger.

• ViaWired
• SourceGitHub
• Related Itemssecuritytsalocks