The photos weren't really leaked. They were purposefully, proudly, and affirmatively held up by a senior TSA official so a news reporter could photograph them.
While these locks are so easily defeated that this really doesn't make anyone significantly less safe, it does demonstrate that the TSA knows absolutely nothing about security.
I'm not sure if it tells us anything about what the TSA knows about security. It was already pretty apparent they didn't know much there. Even just looking at the locks, the master keys would have been pretty easy to reverse engineer from the locks themselves, which of course are sold all over the place.
What's interesting to me is that this shows they don't even know about pretend security. Releasing these pictures doesn't impact real security much, but it does impact the impression of security they try to give to the average idiot.
I am curious if the TSA even uses these keys? I am sure 90% of the time these TSA approved locks are attached to luggage with zippers.
For some reason I have a hunch that TSA agents probably just part the zipper with a bic pen, do whatever inspection is necessary, and re-seal the bag. Seems a bit quicker than fumbling around for the right key.
I read in another article about this topic that guards in (US) prisons wear a cloth casing/cover over the end of their keys, only to take out the security-sensitive part when they actually use them.
While these locks are so easily defeated that this really doesn't make anyone significantly less safe, it does demonstrate that the TSA knows absolutely nothing about security.