Theft articles

Cargo thieves are staging car crashes to steal AI data center hardware

TL;DR: Cargo thieves are targeting equipment used in AI data centers, from server switches to cooling systems and networking hardware. In two recent California cases, criminals appear to have used car crashes to separate trucks from their security escorts before the shipments vanished. The incidents highlight how organized groups are using carrier-identity fraud, GPS manipulation and, increasingly, aggressive roadside tactics to steal high-value tech moving through the freight network.

A Coldcard firmware flaw let hackers drain $70 million in Bitcoin in 41 minutes, with losses now topping $88 million

Why it matters: A hardware wallet is supposed to solve one problem: keep your Bitcoin keys somewhere no attacker can reach them. This week showed what happens when the flaw sits inside the wallet itself. A firmware bug that's been shipping in Coldcard devices since 2021 let an attacker guess supposedly random seed phrases from the outside, no physical access, no phishing, no malware required, and drain funds from thousands of addresses. The running total is already past $88 million, and it's still climbing.

Cargo thieves are now stealing millions in data center hardware, not just GPUs and consoles

Ripple effect: The AI boom may be hurting consumers, white-collar workers, and rural residents living near data centers, but it's opened up "new opportunities" for cargo thieves. Criminals are reportedly cashing in on the data center construction boom by stealing millions of dollars' worth of server hardware, cables, and other high-value tech equipment.

Stolen Apple Mac mini resurfaces on Facebook Marketplace as thief posts serial number and license plate

Android phones are getting smarter about detecting when they've been stolen

North Korean hackers stole $2 billion in crypto, and the year's not over

UK police use Find My to catch thieves who smuggled 40,000 phones to China over the last year

Anker paid Eufy owners $2 per video to train its AI (even for staged thefts)

Copper cable theft hits Germany's electric vehicle charging network

Teen hacker from notorious Scattered Spider ring sentenced to 10 years in federal prison

In a nutshell: A Palm Coast, Florida, man linked to a notorious hacking crew will spend the next decade in federal prison after admitting to a multimillion-dollar cybercrime spree that relied on SIM-swapping attacks to steal cryptocurrency. The sentencing closes a two-year investigation that exposed one of the largest fraud schemes tied to a group known as Scattered Spider.

Intel engineer who stole documents for Microsoft job fined $34,000 but avoids prison

Hyundai tells Ioniq 5 owners it will fix keyless security flaw – for a $65 "contribution"

Former ASML and NXP engineer jailed for leaking chipmaking secrets to Russia

In context: As tensions rise over semiconductor dominance, intellectual property tied to chip manufacturing has become a prime target for espionage. Companies like ASML and NXP sit at the center of this strategic tech battleground, making any breach not just a corporate concern but a geopolitical one. A recent case in the Netherlands highlights just how far some actors are willing to go to access this sensitive technology.

Stolen iPhones disabled by Apple's anti-theft tech after Los Angeles looting

Android is making stolen phones unusable with enhanced theft protection

Record $1.5 billion crypto heist hits exchange, Ethereum reserves drained

ChargePoint unveils "anti-vandalism" EV charger cables designed to deter copper thieves

Bosch's new e-bike battery theft solution looks great, but it's locked behind a paywall

Thieves steal $1.5 million worth of Oculus VR headsets, $900K in Microsoft goods during truck heists

Panic somehow recovered $400,000 of stolen Playdate handhelds after botched delivery

TSA fail: Man arrested for stealing boarding pass QR codes with his phone's camera

Former Google engineer indicted for allegedly stealing AI secrets while stealthily running a startup in China

Canada moves to ban the Flipper Zero amid rising auto theft concerns

Bottom line: The popularity of the Flipper Zero has Canadian officials on edge. While the tool's capabilities do raise concerns, the knee-jerk prohibition highlights the tricky balance between empowering white-hat hackers and preventing malicious misuse of technology.

Scammers trick company employee using video call filled with deepfakes of execs, steal $25 million

Every iPhone user should know about iOS 17's upcoming anti-theft feature