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Elevator Hacking: From the Pit to the Penthouse

Elevator Hacking: From the Pit to the Penthouse

DeviantOllam
9 HN recommenders · discussed 2014–2026
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About this video

Deviant Ollam's two-hour conference talk explains how elevators work, from the pit and buffers to the car top, controller logic and access-control features. It shows how this knowledge can be used for optimization and for bypassing building security.

Why it appears in the archive

HN commenters call it an absorbing, entertaining deep dive on elevator security and the go-to link whenever elevators come up.

AI-generated summary and labels from the source dataset; verify important details against the video. Source & credits.

From the Hacker News discussion

_asummers · 2016-04 · strong rec

And watch this[0] entire (super entertaining) talk from Hope X about elevator security. You get a pretty good feal for how the safety measures work after watching it. [0] [VIDEO]

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unixhero · 2018-07 · strong rec

Yes. That's the shorter censored versoion. I recommend the full 2 hour version, with all the secrets: [VIDEO] My second favourite talk: You spent all that money and your still got owned: [LINK] I even watch these again and again.

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thejenk · 2019-06 · strong rec

Deviant Ollam does another talk with elevator consultant Howard Payne just about elevator security which is fantastic. It's very similar to this one, but goes deeper into the single subject. There are a few versions on YouTube of various lengths, but here's the 2 hour version: [VIDEO]

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royjacobs · 2021-07 · strong rec

If you're interested in elevators and the hacking thereof I would also highly recommend this talk: [VIDEO]

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mpd · 2021-07 · strong rec

I ran into [VIDEO] (Elevator Hacking: From the Pit to the Penthouse) awhile back, and it was so interesting to me that I ended up watching the entire 2 hours in one sitting.

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nhhvhy · 2026-07 · strong rec

If you feel like going down an elevator rabbithole, Deviant Ollam has quite a few talks/videos about all sorts of niche elevator stuff. My personal favorite: [VIDEO]

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lathiat · 2018-12 · rec

Deviant Ollam - The Hotel Room Gourmet [LINK] Also not 2018 but his elevator with Howard Payne talk: [LINK] (1h version) [VIDEO] (2h version) And the search for the perfect door: [LINK]

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wolrah · 2021-06 · rec

Relevant video discussing fire keys and other common keys: [LINK] And since this thread is about elevators, I have to also mention another video of theirs: [VIDEO]

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