Elevator Hacking: From the Pit to the Penthouse
Why Hacker News recommends it
HN commenters call it an absorbing, entertaining deep dive on elevator security and the go-to link whenever elevators come up.
What it is
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.
Recommended by 9 HN commenters across 7 different months, 2014 to 2026.
What Hacker News said
Strong rec _asummers · 2016-04 · on “Mosh: the mobile shell”
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] [this video]
Strong rec unixhero · 2018-07 · on “Ask HN: What talks or videos do you suggest to watch on a long flight?”
Yes. That's the shorter censored versoion. I recommend the full 2 hour version, with all the secrets: [this video] My second favourite talk: You spent all that money and your still got owned: [LINK] I even watch these again and again.
Strong rec thejenk · 2019-06 · on “I'll Let Myself In: Tactics of Physical Pen Testers (2017) [video]”
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: [this video]
Strong rec royjacobs · 2021-07 · on “List of Special Elevator Modes”
If you're interested in elevators and the hacking thereof I would also highly recommend this talk: [this video]
Strong rec mpd · 2021-07 · on “List of Special Elevator Modes”
I ran into [this 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.
Strong rec nhhvhy · 2026-07 · on “Elevators”
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: [this video]
Recommends lathiat · 2018-12 · on “Ask HN: Best talks of 2018?”
Deviant Ollam - The Hotel Room Gourmet [LINK] Also not 2018 but his elevator with Howard Payne talk: [LINK] (1h version) [this video] (2h version) And the search for the perfect door: [LINK]
Recommends wolrah · 2021-06 · on “Elevator Saga – An elevator programming game”
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: [this video]