A team of cybersecurity experts has finally, after much effort, found a way to access a Bitcoin wallet containing millions of dollars. However, the major dilemma lies in the owner's lack of concern about what is happening.
In 2011, programmer Stephen Thomas created an animated video titled "What is Bitcoin?" to assist a cryptocurrency enthusiast residing in Switzerland. Thomas was paid in the same digital currency, receiving a total of exactly 7,002 Bitcoins. At that time, each Bitcoin was worth $2, making the payment a substantial amount.
The current value of one Bitcoin is $34,095.40, meaning that Thomas's Bitcoins are now worth $238,735,990.80.
Due to his cautious nature, particularly regarding security matters, Thomas stored his cryptocurrency on an encrypted hard drive of the IronKey type. This drive allows the user ten attempts to guess the password and access the contents. If these ten attempts fail, the drive is permanently sealed.
This applies even to those holding the equivalent of $238,735,990.80 inside the drive.
While the encrypted hard drive serves as an excellent means of preventing malicious individuals from stealing assets, it also poses a significant problem for those who may forget the password. This was precisely the scenario for Thomas, as he lost the paper containing the password due to ten years passing without using the hard drive.
Over the years, Thomas attempted to open the hard drive and access the millions of dollars he lost in various ways. However, he now has only two attempts left before the drive is permanently sealed.
Thomas is not the only party interested in recovering the valuable Bitcoin wallet. Cybersecurity experts, along with two teams Thomas has employed to assist him, have attempted to open the hard drive and are offering a substantial reward for their efforts.
The company Unciphered, specializing in recovering lost digital currencies, stepped in to find a solution to the problem. They claim to have found a way to hack IronKey hard drives, which have been in use for a decade or more, and shared their findings with Wired magazine.
Their method involves sending a message containing the new password the day after setting it. Journalist Andy Greenberg participated in the experiment and agreed that the company successfully transmitted the new password.
Recently, Unciphered reached out to Thomas after confirming their method, but he rejected their offer, according to Wired magazine. This decision was influenced by agreements Thomas had already signed with the cybersecurity teams working on solutions.
Thomas told Wired, "I've previously entered into a work agreement with a team of experts to recover the contents of the hard drive, so I cannot enter into new agreements at the moment."
The current cybersecurity team can delegate the task to Unciphered if they find it to be the most suitable solution, but for now, the situation remains in a state of flux.
