Since its inception, the lock and key have been providing individuals a means to safely and securely protect their most prized possessions. Whether you're securing your possessions, protecting your family, or safeguarding your property, locksmiths have been providing individuals with peace of mind. While the profession has evolved over the centuries from a iron key and tumbler-lock, the premise of a locksmith still holds true. However, as society emerges into the 21st century, and the digital revolution encompasses all aspects of daily life, the goals and skill-set of the locksmith must also progress to keep up with the growing security needs. To help provide insight, this article will discuss two ways in which the locksmithing profession will grow and adapt to meet the changing environment.
Digital Locks
From home-automation and keyless entries to voice recognition and biometric scans, the entire way society thinks about identification, access, and security is beginning to shift. In times past, protecting your possessions was a very physical and manual process. While locksmiths focused on building more complex and intricate locks, no matter how advanced the security, there was always a physical key to circumvent the system. If this key was lost or stolen, the finder would have access to whatever was guarded.
In today's society, the digital age has ushered in new means to secure those same types of assets. Cars, homes, office-buildings, and nearly everything else imaginable have begun exploring keyless entry, voice activation, biometric scans, RFID cards, facial recognition, and so many other avenues. And while traditional lock and key methods are still very much in play, tomorrow's locksmith will have to adapt and grow to meet these new demands.
Locksmiths of tomorrow will have to have adept knowledge regarding home-automation systems, which could include networking, management information systems, computer science, engineering, and even electrical fundamentals. While expertise in all fields is unlikely, a foundational comprehension of how all the systems interact and work together will be crucial.
Digital Information
While digital locks help protect assets in the physical world, sophisticated software and coding techniques will help protect digital assets in the virtual world. This is where the term locksmith truly transforms into something completely unique. While the idea of protecting possessions still remains, the medium and delivery in which everything is accomplished has shifted. Computer science majors who specialize in security software, encoding, and encrypting are becoming the locksmiths of the virtual era. Advanced coding languages like PHP, Perl, and SQL monitor and restrict digital assets, which are stored in physical servers, yet accessed through wireless means.
Prized possessions like gold and jewelry are no longer relevant in the virtual world. Instead, personal identities, bank account credentials, and email passwords have become the things in which society seems to guard most. Today's lockpick is called a hacker, and the locksmith is your programming security consultant. And whether that security consultant works for Wells Fargo protecting your account, or as a computer programmer writing the latest iterations of anti-virus software for your computer, the premise, need, and results are still the same. Physical assets require a physical lock and key, while digital assets require a digital lock and key.
Society will always have locksmiths, and whether the medium is physical or digital, the need to protect one's assets will always be required. As society progresses into the digital era, professions such as the locksmith will need to grow and adapt in order to maintain relevancy. Through this time, role-definitions may split, and new specifications may emerge, but that in part is the beauty of evolution.
If you're looking for a locksmith for your home's security, visit Cornerstone Locksmith.
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