Covert Entry skill sets increase operational capabilities for government, law enforcement and security operators across a wide array of situations. Expand your skills today.
We still have a couple of seats left for our May courses in downtown Toronto…
Covert Entry Concepts is $865 ($200 deposit to hold a spot) May 12 & 13.
This course will teach Law Enforcement Personnel, Special Operations Forces, and Government employees and security professionals the principles of safe dial mechanics.
This course is basically two courses in one. Day 1you will learn everything you need to know to install, dial, open, change the combination, diagnose and troubleshoot UL Group 2 mechanical combination locks. By the end of the day you will be able to completely disassemble and reassemble most mechanical dials in use today. Some non-invasive covert methods will also be discussed.
Day 2we will teach you how to use the design flaws in mechanical combination locks to manipulate the wheels and components to obtain a locks combination while opening the locking mechanism. All mechanical locks have factory defects, known as tolerances, which allows them to be manipulated.
This is a non-invasive method for obtaining access to a safe as well as retrieve the combination. Since the techniques taught in this class are largely nondestructive, agencies will also benefit by having a decrease in costs and civil actions due to property damage.
The cost of the course is $510 CAD with a $200 deposit required to hold your place. If taken with Covert Entry Concepts, the cost is $1150 for both.
Equipment:
There may be an opportunity to purchase specialized equipment during this course. Details to follow in the logistics e-mail which will be sent out to attendees.
Logistics:
A logistics e-mail will be sent out to attendees separately prior to course.
E-mail us at:
truenorthtradecraft@gmail.com
For more information and payment instructions.
***SEE FLYER LINK AT BOTTOM***
Course Schedule is:
Mon May 14: 0800hrs – 1700hrs
Tues May 15: 0800hrs – 1700hrs
***Mon & Tues breakfasts, coffee and snacks included.
DISCLAIMER:*Nothing in the course offering is intended to be used for unlawful purposes. Consult with your local laws prior to employing these techniques in the field. This is intended for lawful use ONLY. True North Tradecraft and its partners do not condone or advocate illegal activities.*
On the weekend of 28-29-30 July, 2017, True North Tradecraft hosted the first-ever offering of The CORE Group’s Covert Entry Concepts course in Toronto. We had 9 students, an excellent venue, great food and of course, fantastic training. (To read my review of the course I attended in Maryland, click here.)
Training materials before.Training materials, after.
Friday evening saw the group meet up, make introductions and immerse themselves in Street Thief, a mockumentary based on a thief. Though not “real”, it did accurately illustrate how an actual thief does what they do, ideas for protecting against such things and using the same methodologies in conducting security assessments and Red Team-type attacks. That, coupled with some yummy pizza (no Hawaiian, you’re welcome Rob) made for a good evening.
Mmmm..pizza.
Starting bright and early on Saturday morning, we hit the ground running getting into the principles of physical security, locking mechanisms and the basics of attacking them. This was framed within the construct of proper evaluation and approach vectors for attack and assessment.
The tools.
Thanks to The Lucky Penny for providing scrumptious snacks and endless coffee to get us started and keep us going.
Freshly baked and delivered food and coffee made a huge positive impact on all of us.
The entire day was fast and furious. We hit on a vast breadth of topics and brought it all to practice very quickly. The students were introduced to various locks and their corresponding pick and bypass tools.
Checking out a tubular lock pick.
Wafer locks, pin & tumbler, dead bolts, combination locks, padlocks, warded locks, etc. The pace was fast but students picked-up the skills quickly and began to progress through to more difficult locks. After everyone felt they were getting the hang of it, we moved right into impressioning and key casting.
Key impressioning. Money for nothing and your checks for free.Key casting. Delicate but really interesting if done correctly.
Saturday had some tasty lunch too…
Rob enjoying a fine Canadian poutine. Now he has a standard to measure all others by.
The rest of the day was spent discussing elevators and their uses in Red Team operations and physical security, safes and other miscellaneous related content.
We finished off the evening as a group at a fantastic nearby Mexican restaurant where the food was excellent and the tequila and mojitos flowed.
Mmmm…guac and tequila.So much food. So good. Cheers all!
Sunday, though rough for some more than others, continued the same high tempo. We dove right into more elevator stuff and more impressioning challenges.
One challenge was who could impression a key properly before anyone else.
The second was the T-Rex Challenge. Picking a lock while a electronic muscle stimulator is hooked-up to one’s forearms. It’s a laugh for all.
Those arms are shaking. Doesn’t matter how tough you are, it was crazy.
That winners of each challenge got some stuff from our friends at Delta 2 Alpha Design (The Lolly and The Mark, and stickers, each.)
After we all stopped laughing and got feeling back in our arms, we carried on to lock bypassing, familiarization with various tools and techniques associated with it and giving them a trial run.
One of the students using an Under Door Tool to rescue someone (Rob and another student) from the bathroom.
We then transitioned to removing/replacing tamper-evident seals. A very delicate operation to say the least, this portion of the day was slow-going and painstakingly irritating when impatience wrecked it all. That said, it was very interesting in its method and application. We also discussed security posturing, use, strength and limitations of seals and tamper-evident devices along with best practices.
Making tamper-evident not-so-evident. Steady hands.
To round out the weekend, we finished on a high note with restraint escapes. Dealing in escaping unlawful custody while restrained by handcuffs, nylon zip ties, duct tape and cord. The more you know, the better prepared you will be.
Aftermath of zip tie escape.Tools of the trade.
One of the most important parts of the learning was the manner in which it was delivered. Rob’s easy-going and humorous nature, coupled with his expansive knowledge and professionalism made for a relaxed yet powerful learning environment. He is an exemplary instructor and trainer and is so giving of himself and his knowledge. That and he couldn’t get over how no one carried guns. Yay Canada. It all makes a huge positive difference.
As with all experiences of this kind, there was so much more we covered and were exposed to that it simply wouldn’t do it justice to speak to here. There is only so much you can read about or learn from on YouTube before you hit a wall. Well-delivered, quality, in-person training has no substitute. I recommend this training to anyone interested in these skills. In the end, an excellent group made an excellent class. Congratulations to all.
Certificate. It was all worth it.
We are excited about how everything went that we are already planning our next offering. Keep tuned to the Blog (and Instagram and Facebook) for more details.
Thank you to Rob and to all others who helped make this happen and make it great (See below) and thank you to all who attended.
Covert Entry Concepts – 1st Canadian Offering This course will teach Law Enforcement Personnel, Special Operations Forces, and Government employees and security professionals the principles of lock bypassing and making covert entries into buildings or properties.
This class is entirely hands on. From the moment you enter the course you will have tools in your hand and are working to exploit various locking mechanisms. Students will learn to recognize the vulnerabilities in existing hardware, how they are attacked, or sometimes even bypassed entirely. You’ll walk away with the skills needed to compromise most of the locks used in North America today. Students will be much better positioned to provide service in a variety of tactical areas: check welfare calls, search and arrest warrant service, establishing sniper positions, sneak and peak operations, surveillance operations, fire safe opening, and breaking and entering investigations.
Since the techniques taught in this class are largely nondestructive, agencies will also benefit by having a decrease in civil actions due to property damage.
The cost of the course is $675 USD or $895 CAD with a $200 deposit required to hold your place.
E-mail us at:
truenorthtradecraft@gmail.com
for more information and payment instructions.
(***See link to flyer at bottom***)
Schedule is:
Fri July 28: 1800hrs – late
Sat July 29: 0800hrs -1700hrs
Sun July 30: 0800hrs – 1700hrs
Included Equipment:
Included in the cost of the course is a comprehensive set of high quality tools that you can use on the job or practice at home to maintain the skills you’ll build in class. • High Quality 12 Piece Pick Set • Set of covert jigglers • Set of warded picks • Bump Hammer • Bump keys • An ez decoder • Underdoor tool
***Friday dinner, Sat & Sun breakfasts, coffee and snacks included. Team dinner scheduled for Saturday night.
DISCLAIMER:*Nothing in the course offering is intended to be used for unlawful purposes. Consult with your local laws prior to employing these techniques in the field. This is intended for lawful use ONLY. True North Tradecraft and its partners do not condone or advocate illegal activities.*
How often have you thought “hey, I wish I could learn that…but the training is only available in the US. So much for that.”? I have. Many times. So, in my quest to build my own skills, I saved up some money and travelled to the United States to attend training I had my eye for months.
In November 2016, I had the privilege of attending the Covert Entry Concepts (CEC) training course in Maryland. It was put on by The CORE Group in their Maryland facilities and wow, what a good time it was.
The CORE Group
(*I lucked-out by taking two courses back-to-back at The CORE Groups’ Maryland facilities, the Covert Entry Concepts and Physical Security Analyst. This is a review for Covert Entry Concepts. I will post a review of the Physical Security Analyst soon.)
The purpose of the course, in broad strokes, is to be given an education in physical security, how to identify and exploit any weaknesses with the ultimate goal to test those weaknesses and close any found loopholes for a client to protect them from attack. As a security professional myself, I feel that expanding my skill sets is a responsibility to make me more effective in my job.
“The CORE Group was initially formed by a trio of security auditors and researchers who had collaborated on numerous projects and conference events over the years. At present, their combined experience in the physical security sector represents decades of hard knowledge and applied work. The CORE Group finds innovative ways to augment typical security auditing and assessment. Most companies incorporate digital penetration testing and web application testing into their standard procedure of self-assessment. The CORE Group offers a variety of packages that can greatly assist in a company’s understanding of their security posture at a fraction of the cost of larger, more “conventional” testing.”
The CORE Group conducts training all over, training Law Enforcement & Military, Government Agencies, Physical Security specialists, Red Team and PenTesters, IT Security and Locksport enthusiasts. They attend many of the “cons” (such as Black Hat, DEF CON, SANS, etc.) throughout the US, many times running the “Lockpick Village” and providing intensive training to professionals all over.
The course was a 2-day, Monday/Tuesday set-up. A mixed bag of Law Enforcement, Military, physical security professionals and “other, government” types. A good group of people to get to know and learn with. Our Instructor, Rob, Chief of the Law Enforcement training division of The CORE Group, was welcoming and professional from the word “go”. After some quick ice-breakers, we moved right into an introduction to lockpicking.
Learning lock picking concepts.
Discussions, anecdotes, slides and practical demonstrations were all used to great effect in training to underline the principles and applications for what were were learning about in that moment. Everything was helped by Rob’s sense of humour, positive attitude, patience and obvious expertise in the subject matter. We worked on a vast array of topics. Lock-picking; bumping; bypasses; construction; safes; tamper-evident seals; elevators; impressioning; the Mace Face Challenge; casting keys; attack vectors; padlocks; restraint escapes and so much more. So much information was covered that, even weeks later, I found myself re-reading the detailed notes I had made in an effort to absorb it all. Not only was it an incredible amount of practical and useful information, but much of it was eye-opening and fascinating as well. Not all aspects are covered in every session that Rob delivers due to geography or other issues, but my experience was just great.
Here is a look at some of the stuff we got to play with:
Learning to cut keys.Classroom all set-up.The challenges ahead…The tools. The cookie is of the utmost importance.Practicing skills.
After enjoying amazing chicken, fantastic bbq, getting to know the other participants and doing an awesome escape exercise preceded by burpees (I hate burpees) it ended up being a really great time.
I felt as if it was a skill-building game-changer. The depth and breadth of knowledge shared and learned was exceptional. Though these are all perishable skills requiring regular practice, the base is unmistakably solid. It certainly opened the door to a world of opportunities. The people I met and the confidence in my abilities were well worth the cost and effort to travel south of the border. I highly recommend taking this training if you have the means and opportunity. It’s a staple of tradecraft and is useful in a myriad of situations (all ethically bounded, of course). Use your powers for good. And if you work hard, you can earn one of these…
The prize. Earned. BOOM.
NOW…
If you’re interested in taking this course IN CANADA, True North Tradecraft, in partnership with Tactical Beaver, will be sponsoring a unique run of this course in downtown Toronto on the weekend of July 28-29-30, 2017, to be taught by Rob of The CORE Group. This training is not available anywhere else in Canada (to my knowledge – and I’ve searched) and is well worth it’s weight in gold. It will include top-tier instruction, a kit of equipment for you to practice on and keep when you’re done and breakfast daily with dinner on the Friday night. For more detailed information, e-mail us at truenorthtradecraft@gmail.com . Spaces are limited and booking up already. Tactical Beaver will also have a table with great apparel available to purchase at a discount.
Check it out. It’s a really great opportunity to learn from an expert in the field and do so IN CANADA!
