Highway thieves are spoofing GPS to steal millions in data center-bound cargo
Investigators explain how highway thieves stole $100M in data center equipment.
Investigators explain how highway thieves stole $100M in data center equipment.
The short version
- Highway thieves are using sophisticated digital tactics that investigators worry make it easy to rob trucks carrying millions in expensive data center equipment.
- While some stolen goods have been recovered, in two of the largest thefts that NBC News found, none of the equipment was found, and off-duty cops hired to escort the shipments were targeted in hit-and-runs.
- The same thing happened with another shipment out of California, headed to Texas, NBC News reported.
What happened
Carrying “server rack components estimated to be worth around $10 million,” that trailer also sped off after the security escorts’ vehicle was struck by an SUV. Broadly, cargo thieves are infiltrating email accounts to find lucrative shipments, misdirecting shipments, disrupting GPS tracking, and using AI to create fake driver’s licenses to get accomplices hired as delivery drivers.
Why it matters
David Pantoja told NBC News “that’s how most of it is being done,” which is a big shift from the past when highway thefts were largely opportunistic.
Summary by Nerd News Network. Read the full article at Ars Technica via the links above and below.