In 1971, Tobias authored the first edition of
Locks, Safes, and Security: An International Police Reference which is considered as the bible for law enforcement and crime laboratories. The book's second edition was published in 2000 which was reviewed by several security periodicals that included
ASIS Security Management, and the
Journal of Forensic Identification. In 2008, Tobias co-authored
Open in Thirty Seconds: Cracking One of the Most Secure Locks in America which describes methods to defeat
Medeco locks. In 2024, his eighth book,
Tobias on Locks and Insecurity Engineering, was published by
Wiley. The book discusses the historical development of lock engineering and examines the progression of lock technologies, from traditional mechanical systems to modern digital codes. It discusses how increasing complexity in lock design can introduce new vulnerabilities. ==Bibliography==