Question

What is the full theoretical size of the search space for a pin tumbler lock that has 8 pin, each with 4 different distinct heights? if an attacker can try one key per second, how many hours do you think the attackers need to find the correct key?

Answer 1

Size of the search space is the number of all possible combinations proposed as a solution to the problem that may lead to the solution.

In the given scenario, we have 4 combinations possible for each pin , therefore for 8 pins we have:

4 X 4 X 4 X 4 x 4 X 4 X 4 X 4 = 4⁸ possible combinations = 65536 combinations

Suppose in the worst case, the attacker gets the correct key combination in the vary last try then,

He would need 65536 seconds or

65536/ (60 X 60) hours = 18.204 hours

Or, precisely, we can say that he'll need 18.204 hours to find the correct key combination.