Security corporation claims it could unencumber IronKey USB drive maintaining 7,000 Bitcoin hostage, however proprietor with courtesy declines

Recap: Stefan Thomas became provided 7,002 Bitcoins over a decade ago in change for supporting produce an lively video approximately the budding cryptocurrency. The programmer saved the virtual currency on a highly encrypted USB power called an IronKey and wrote down the password on a sheet of paper for safekeeping. Predictably, that piece of paper ended up lacking and the crypto has been locked in virtual purgatory ever due to the fact.

Making matters worse is the face that the IronKey tool has a constructed in mechanism that best allows for 10 password guesses earlier than its contents are destroyed. In 2021, Thomas instructed The New York Times that he simplest has two guesses left. The story does now not give up there, but it does take a unusual turn.

Around that identical time, a group of hackers and cryptographers formed a began called Unciphered that makes a speciality of breaking into locked drives just like the one Thomas owns. In early 2023, they started operating on IronKey gadgets just like what they believe Thomas is in possession of as a part of an operation they known as Project Everest.

Slowly however genuinely, the crew discovered cracks in the armor – bits of code that looked sloppy, or turned into written in a way that was no longer perfect. They bought every instance of the getting older device they could get their fingers on and used excessive-give up technology like CT scanners to assist opposite engineer the pressure, going thus far as to construct a complete 3-d version of the stick's stable enclave. In July, the paintings sooner or later paid off because the team effectively read the contents of a decrypted IronKey drive for the first actual time.

"We simply summited Everest," proclaimed Unciphered CEO Eric Michaud.

The crew has when you consider that unlocked IronKey devices extra than a thousand instances – all in a non-negative manner – or even tested it three instances for Wired. With that form of fulfillment rate, you would assume Thomas could be chomping on the bit to strike up a cope with Unciphered and subsequently gain get admission to to his Bitcoins, but that has now not been the case.

According to Wired, Unciphered reached out to Thomas thru a mutual companion but Thomas with courtesy declined their help. In an electronic mail to the book, Thomas said he's already running with a unique set of specialists at the healing and isn't always in a position to barter with a person else proper now. "It's feasible that the modern-day crew ought to determine to subcontract Unciphered in the event that they sense it's the pleasant choice," he said, adding that, "we're going to need to wait and see."

It is well worth noting that Thomas probably isn't always hurting for money. In the 2021 piece with The NY Times, he said he had managed to preserve directly to enough Bitcoin (and no longer lose the passwords) to provide him "greater riches than he knows what to do with."

Given Bitcoin's price of round $34,300 consistent with coin, Thomas' locked haul has a price of more than $240 million as of this writing.

Image credit: Simon, Alesia Kozik