Vanity Fair may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. “Just one more, to get a bigger mining facility.”. “The data centers didn’t want this getting out, because it could affect their talks with foreign investors,” says one observer. This being Iceland, someone had even left a ladder nearby. “I just wish I had done it.”, — How one industry is bleeding Wall Street dry of talent— Ronan Farrow’s producer reveals how NBC killed its Weinstein story— Ivanka’s $360 million deal is raising eyebrows at the FBI— The big turn for Elizabeth Warren’s campaign— Why a leading neurocriminologist left Joker completely stunned— The Fox News movie’s uncanny depictions of the network’s drama— From the Archive: The real-life story of the security guard turned bombing suspect at the heart of Clint Eastwood’s latest movie. The criminals weren’t robbing banks, or even Fort Knox. There was also an image of what police would later claim was Jonasson’s tattooed left forearm. When he emerged, he was too weak to walk. The mine was only six days old. Determined to turn his life around, he got married, took a job driving a postal truck, and graduated with a degree in computer science from the University of Iceland, where he was voted Prankster of the Year. Gylfason, apprehended at his home, confessed to his role. Then he and Jonasson stacked 28 brand-new “money machines” into their waiting van and raced away. Last year, Sindri Stefansson was arrested for his part in what has been described as the biggest heist Iceland has seen – over $2 million worth of Bitcoin mining equipment stolen in an operation that Mastermind Who Planned Iceland’s Biggest Bitcoin Heist Jailed for 4.5 Years The police, assisted by Interpol, mobilized in an international manhunt. CASH MACHINES XRY 9.1.2 – Checkm8 Extraction And BFU Acquisition For iOS. Iceland was rich in everything that Streng needed to mine Bitcoins. While he was sleeping, someone had broken into the data center and stolen 550 Bitcoin computers, along with motherboards, graphics cards, and power accessories—a haul worth $500,000 for the hardware alone. Any talk of a heist would be bad for business. “I just needed more.”, The answer, he decided, lay in the unsecured buildings at the old naval base, packed with zillion-dollar money machines. Bank of Ireland heist. This time, with the future of the cryptocurrency industry at stake, police dispensed with the “conversation room.” Gone were the cozy couch and the comfy blanket. CYBER PUNKS Not even a connection. But before he could make a move, the gang got a lucky break: The guard suddenly raced home, diverted by diarrhea, and never returned. And so, after three days of “conversation,” they were free to leave—told, in essence, have a nice day. All rights reserved. No data. One wintry day, a German cryptocurrency entrepreneur named Marco Streng stepped off a plane at Keflavik International Airport. And now, to top it off, he was sick. “Something’s wrong!” he told her. He recognized one of the men in the car—Sindri Stefansson—who sat alongside a man wearing a hoodie, and another who spoke in a gruff Eastern European accent. He communicated with his team via Telegram, a service that enables encrypted, self-destructing messages. March 2, 2018 2:40 p.m. PT. It’s known as the ‘Big Bitcoin Heist’. Stefansson managed to escape from Sogn prison and board a flight to Stockholm at the international airport in Keflavik. Born and raised in the small town of Akureyri, he committed his first breaking and entering in kindergarten, smashing a window at school and reaching inside to open the door. In Iceland, police are hoping a power surge will lead them to the criminals' stash. “We never call it interrogation,” an officer tells me. Thieves steal 600 powerful bitcoin-mining computers in huge heist. Then Stefansson got a call from someone he had studied computer science with at the university. They plowed their paper profits into foreign assets—real estate, fashion brands, soccer teams—only to go bust in the global financial crash of 2008. He had no idea his information would lead to a burglary, and they used him.”, Questioned by police, Stefansson and Karlsson insisted that they had absolutely nothing to do with the burglary. The police seemed slow to investigate, and the burgled companies preferred that the crimes stay quiet. Top, by Alex Telfer/Trunk Archive; bottom, by Andrew Testa/The New York Times/Redux. “Regular people don’t comprehend all it does. with its cheap geothermal energy and low crime rate, iceland has become the world's leading miner of digital currency. It was cryptocurrency, ironically, that helped save Iceland after the bankers bankrupted it. Finally, around 10 p.m., he jumped into his car and sped home, rushing straight to the bathroom. It’s possible that the machines are blinking away in a warehouse somewhere at this very moment, mining Bitcoin for the young men who stole them. Then came another gift: The motion detectors at the data center weren’t even connected to the alarm system. Over the course of two or three moonlit meetings, Gylfason told the gang everything he knew about the Advania data center: the location of the security cameras, the specifics of the anti-theft systems, how security shifts were organized. Stefansson and the rest of the gang might have stopped there. Haffi the Pink, Viktor the Cutie, and the security guard, Ivar Gylfason, got sentences ranging from 15 to 20 months. While being detained in the Borgarnes investigation, Karlsson lost his job as a day care worker. “It’s the biggest burglary in the history of Iceland,” Stefansson boasts of the Bitcoin heist. It was the fifth cryptocurrency data center in Iceland to be hit in two months. Jolted awake just before seven the next morning, he rushed to his car to return to work, only to find that someone had slashed his tires. But “the judge did not extend the custody temporarily.”, The prison staff advised Stefansson that, technically, he was a free man: The order had expired at 4 p.m. and would not be extended until the next day. “I’ve never seen violence in them. The next morning, one of the mine’s investors logged in from Germany to check the overnight action from the data center. It clearly showed the used blue van Karlsson had bought. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. With its cheap geothermal energy and low crime rate, Iceland has become the world’s leading miner of digital currency. But the true value of the computers was far greater. The case might have ended there, an obscure series of crimes in a cold and remote country. The alarm sounded, and they fled. They also seized his iPhone, which was shipped to Holland to be unlocked. Silk Road Seizure. The total take, Stefansson calculated, could be as much as $1.2 million a year—“forever.” Because, with the stolen computers, Stefansson and Mr. X would establish their own Bitcoin mine. Looking for more? A window was open, to cool the computers. In a panic, he called the mine’s owner back in Borgarnes. “The police broke down a lot of doors looking for the computers,” says Stefansson. First published on March 3, 2018 / 9:49 AM. According to prosecutors, Stefansson had leased a former fish-processing factory in northern Iceland. This being Iceland, someone had even left a ladder nearby. There wasn’t much to see. Gox was the first successful bitcoin exchange that could cope with a massive number of users anywhere in the world. Mt. That same day, police arrested Karlsson and his brother. Categories Articles Tags cellebrite Post navigation. In their gentle Icelandic style, they placed the suspects in dormitory-style cells in their hometowns, then brought them in for questioning. On Friday, it was trading just below the $11,000 mark. Working around the clock, seven days a week, the computers were part of the largest concentration of Bitcoin mining power in the world. Police registered at least four related incidents between December 2017 and January 2018. By solving and packaging complex “blocks” of encrypted data, the machines helped secure and expand the worldwide network of digital currency. So I started asking around on the internet.”. The owner called the police, who reviewed footage from a CCTV camera at a nearby hardware store. Today, Bitcoin mines consume more energy than all of Iceland’s homes combined. Ad Choices. Large photograph by Andrew Testa/The New York Times/Redux. One night at his keyboard, in the summer of 2017, Stefansson says he made a connection that would transform both him and his country. But for now, Mick and Keith would have to wait: As one of the country’s most illustrious police chiefs, Kjartansson was in charge of cracking the case of the Big Bitcoin Heist. The heist took place over four separate burglaries spanning the months […] Download a PDF copy of this case study: Download. By the time he turned 20, he was growing cannabis. The thieves weren’t robbing banks. A CCTV camera at the toll booth snapped a photograph that showed Stefansson behind the wheel. The relative offered Gylfason cash in exchange for information about the mine. But Stefansson’s next step made headlines worldwide: He used a loophole in the law to escape from prison. Mt. “Why go to all of the expense and effort to start your own Bitcoin mine,” Mr. X asked, “when you can get a head start into the business by stealing computers from the competition?”. It was like an assignment.”, Together, the five men were an Icelandic version of the “Ocean’s 11 gang,” says Alla Ámundadóttir, who covered the case for the country’s major newspaper, Frettabladid. Ten days after their first job, Stefansson and Viktor the Cutie drove to the data center, where Stefansson climbed the ladder, slipped through the open window, and landed, catlike, on the concrete floor. Police tracking the stolen computers are monitoring electric consumption across the country in hopes the thieves will show their hand, according to an industry source who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not allowed to speak to the media. So Stefansson came up with a solution: He would find a role in another burglary for Karlsson, which would “help him out of this shit.” In fact, they would stage their biggest heist yet. They raided a Bitcoin mine owned by a Russian couple they suspected of being the thieves. Anyone who was using Mt. These hacks were the biggest hacks in the History of Cryptocurrencies. Then, in the new millennium, Iceland’s three biggest banks found a way to get rich quick off of foreign debt. The lone police officer patrolling the area had gone home for the night. Photograph by Halldor Kolbeins/AFP/Getty Images. "Being part of the financial system brings enormous privileges, but with them great responsibilities," Carney said. Within six months, Streng transformed an abandoned building on the former base—an old U.S. military lacquering garage—into Iceland’s first Bitcoin mine. At 32, Stefansson is the most famous thief ever to emerge from this polite and friendly island, ranked by the Global Peace Index as the world’s most peaceful nation. Then, once again, Stefansson screwed up. First there was the brawn: Matthias Jon Karlsson, a quiet, husky guy who worked in a home for special-needs kids, and his younger brother, Petur Stanislav, nicknamed “the Polish.” Next, the beauty: Viktor “the Cutie” Ingi Jonasson, a good-looking guy with a degree as a systems administrator. With Kate Nhung, Thanh Pham, Petey Majik Nguyen, Suboi. Major crime is almost nonexistent; in 2018, there was only one murder in all of Iceland. The walls are covered with images of the Northern Lights and the buds of Icelandic flowers poking up through the snowy tundra. Everything is related: electricity, air, heat, cooling systems. It’s furnished with a comfy couch, a fluffy blanket, and a box of Kleenex in case of a tearful confession. In late 2017, a group of thieves successfully broke into Advania data center in Iceland, stealing 550 Bitcoin computers. “I am proud of him for standing up for his rights and protesting that he was illegally held in jail,” says Stefansson’s accomplice, Viktor “the Cutie” Jonasson. Then, according to police, there were the brains: Stefansson’s childhood friend and brother-in-crime, Haffi the Pink, a seasoned drug smuggler with a long rap sheet, who helped organize the jobs from where he was living in Thailand and Spain.
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