True, and you're not going to get the data off with a simple Rpi, but the concept should still work. The company I mentioned recovers data from crashed drives all the time for $1k or so, they'd be able to give it a good go.

Possible. Some of these devices do have anti-tamper that will shatter the chip if you try to pry it or stuff like that. Still we're taking a budget of ~100 million to crack it which is well within the above paper's recommendation of "just buy a fucking ion mill and 3d the state of the chip". The fact he hasn't done something like this makes me wonder if it's all a bullshit story.


I'm guessing the anti-tamper options will limit this. Then again even if the device is set back to zero there might be residual info to reconstruct the data. This is why the military grade ones literally explode. We are talking a budget of 100m to break it, and every safe is rated not to keep your data secure forever but as a function of "time and tools". He should at least be able to get to the "copy the data and brute the key" level with current tech.

Indeed. The concept of "bit rot" is a problem, as is finding tools to be able to read older media. Try finding a 7 track magnetic tape drive :-)


Yeah, possibly. It certainly would not be an easy recovery but 250 million allows a lot of tools to work on it.


And that is a big problem with this thing and the IronKey item: Anyone attempting recovery would know that a slip or error would result in wiping a quarter of a billion dollars of value off the earth, with the resulting "unhappiness" of whatever syndicate was funding the job. Forever you would have the question "maybe he got the key and is just not telling us" hanging over your head. (Yes, you could always check the public balance, but still people get weird when serious $$$ is on the line)

Even a simple task like replacing a USB port on a Trezor would be exceptionally complicated with that much $$$ on the line. It would be like walking a curb next to a street vs walking a curb over a river of lava.

For SMD, Shugart 1000, MFM and ESDI drives the raw signal is right there on the connectors, the controller does the a/d and sampling. This is why some controller cards are much better at reading disks than others. Degraded servo tracks on non-stepper motor drives are usually the problem here.

For IDE and up you do have to do a bit of surface mounted troubleshooting to find the head output from the Op-Amps but it's do-able. Now the professionals will open the disk in a clean room then remove the platters and read them with custom heads. Also remember you don't have to get the whole disk you just need to find the file of the wallet.dat. Even part of it would go a long way, and with things like a 256 bit ECC code you can probably compute out the missing bits with a lot of CPU power.

I like screwing with this stuff, keeps me out of trouble. The ironkey would be a lot harder IMO:

Eh, it's possible. If it was a glass/ceramic disk then the data can be recovered. Remember that OnTrak recovered data from a disk that came down through the fireball of Columbia and spent a few weeks in a swamp.

I've been doing some data recovery on older drives, the power of a Raspberry Pi to read the tracks in analog mode and tease out the data is stunning.

Meantime. Fed money printers go brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

https://i.imgur.com/lEjMssF.mp4

That poor slob in Britain is still trying to get permission to search the landfill for his bitcoins. Worth 250 million.

I can't think about how much that could wreck someone's life.

And that is exactly when I cash out.

Take one down, pass it around.....

I don't know how to fly a helicopter. I can fly a Beech.

Hm. 2.45 bitcoins will get me a 10/10 Beechcraft Bonanza with a new engine....

I don't know, that definitely makes me go "hmmmmmmmm"

Looks like CNN is back on Bitcoin being amazing again. "Ol'e George is back on top!"

40k again!

Meantime looks like 39k time.

There is no "running out" of bitcoin. If they need one they can deliver a new Lambo to my house and I'll send them one for their users.

So simple to do instead of all that "temporarily increase supply to meet demand" stuff.....

Oh yeah! *sucks helium*

The next 24 hours are critical!

Man things are going well in Bitcoin land. But we're still over 10,000 pages behind the coin. Need to shitpost a lot more....

Hey look bitcoin is at 37400. That's nice.

Boobs:

*hug*

The Times should write a retraction and instead say that all ironkeys should be back-doored so that stupid people can ask to get their files and keys back. The example now has little to nothing to do with bitcoin.

Sorry if I am a bit focused on this, but I hate misinformation that pulls on heartstrings to do the wrong thing.

I remember they had models with explosives in them to blow the chip apart, but that was for govt goodies. Still, the problem isn't bitcoin it's this guy storing it on an ironkey. Could have been a word document with his mothers' priceless recipes. So they article is crap, should he be able to get his bitcoin by whining a lot?

Fuck em.