Meet the Father and Son Team Breaking Into Crypto Wallets

CYBER

VICE

Tech News, News & Politics, Technology, News

4 • 645 Ratings

🗓️ 7 April 2022

⏱️ 47 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Close your eyes. Imagine it's 2010. You’ve just learned about something called Bitcoin, a cryptocurrency. You spend $50 and get 50 of the coins, thinking the whole thing is funny. Cut to 2022. What you spent around 50 bucks on in 2010 is now worth 2 million dollars.

There’s just one problem. You need a password to access that 2 million and 2010 was a long time ago. It’s a problem plaguing the world of cryptocurrency: an epidemic of millionaires unable to access their cash. But there are options.

To deal with the problem, a cottage industry of asset recovery specialists has emerged. One is Crypto Asset Recovery, a startup run by a father-son team in New Hampshire.

They are Chris and Charlie Brooks and they are here with me today to talk about the business of breaking in.

Chris and Charlie also appeared on an episode of Motherboard’s TV show Cryptoland, which you can stream at YouTube.com/motherboard.

We’re recording CYBER live on Twitch. Watch live during the week. Follow us there to get alerts when we go live. We take questions from the audience and yours might just end up on the show.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Tadden, it's got the code it's going to launch.
0:10.5	It's a unit system.
0:12.8	I know this.
0:14.8	It's how all the files of the whole park.
0:17.0	It tells you everything.
0:18.7	Sir, he's uploading the virus.
0:21.5	Eagle won.
0:22.3	The package is being delivered.
0:26.0	Hello out there on the internet.
0:27.8	I'm Matthew Galt.
0:28.9	This is cyber.
0:30.2	Listener, close your eyes.
0:32.7	Imagine it's 2010.
0:34.6	You've just learned about something called Bitcoin, a cryptocurrency you're told.
0:38.7	You spend about $50 and get 50 coins thinking the whole thing is kind of funny.
0:43.8	Cut to 2022.
0:45.5	What you spent around 50 bucks on in 2010 is now worth $2 million.
0:51.0	And it might be worth more soon.
0:53.4	But there's a problem. You need a password to access that
0:57.9	two million. In 2010 was a long time ago. It's a problem plaguing the world of cryptocurrency,
1:04.8	an epidemic of millionaires unable to access their cash, forgotten passwords, lost wallets, but there are options.
1:14.4	To deal with the problem, the cottage industry of asset recovery specialists has emerged.
	...

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