An encrypted USB thumb drive known as an IronKey S200, harboring 7,002 bitcoins worth a staggering $235 million. The twist? The owner, a crypto entrepreneur named Stefan Thomas, has lost the password. In a high-stakes quest, a Seattle-based startup called Unciphered has set out to unlock this digital treasure chest, a feat that has proven elusive to many.
The IronKey’s impenetrable safeguard
The IronKey S200 is renowned for its robust security measures. Designed to be FIPS-140-2 Level 3 certified, it’s tamper-resistant and offers military-grade encryption. Attempting to guess the password more than ten times would result in the device permanently erasing its contents, rendering it an impenetrable fortress for digital assets.
A secret cracking technique
Unciphered has, remarkably, developed a secret technique for cracking the IronKey’s encryption, which involves essentially infinite password tries. After close to eight months of intensive work, they believe they have the means to access the lost bitcoins. The only catch is that Stefan Thomas, the owner, doesn’t seem inclined to accept their assistance.
A hesitant treasure hunter
Unciphered’s offer to unlock Thomas’ digital fortune was met with a polite refusal. Thomas had previously made arrangements with two other teams to crack the drive, offering them a share of the proceeds in the event of success. Although neither of those teams has succeeded, Thomas remains committed to giving them more time to work on the challenge.
Unciphered now finds itself in a peculiar situation. They possess the key to potentially one of the most valuable treasures in the cryptocurrency world, but the treasure’s owner prefers to wait for the teams he initially engaged, even if they have not yet succeeded in cracking the code.
A decade-long mystery
The story behind these 7,002 bitcoins dates back to 2011 when Thomas received them as payment for a video about Bitcoin when it was worth less than a dollar. Over the years, the value of these bitcoins has soared, even reaching close to half a billion dollars. Thomas has described the experience of losing access to this fortune as agonizing, and he has made numerous efforts to regain access.
Unciphered’s quest for the pot of gold
Unciphered’s journey to unlock this digital treasure has been a painstaking one. They have reverse-engineered the IronKey, meticulously scanning it, disassembling it, and even wiretapping its secure elements to decipher its encryption. This process reached its culmination when they successfully decrypted an IronKey, a moment they liken to summiting Everest.
As the dilemma unfolds, Unciphered is ready to apply its secret technique, but Thomas’ decision to wait for the initial teams he engaged adds an extra layer of complexity to the treasure hunt. In the world of cryptocurrency, where fortunes can be lost or found with the right key, the quest for the $235 million password remains an intriguing story of perseverance, technology, and the value of digital assets.
