In September, police were called to dismantle a clandestine crypto mining device that was entangled in the floor and ventilation ducts of a Polish court, according to Polish news channel TVN24. Police discovered several encrypted computers that could have stolen energy worth thousands of Polish zlotys per month (equivalent to approximately $250 per 1,000 Polish zlotys). It's unclear how long the device had been operating, as the illegal operations went undetected for so long, in part because the computers used were connected to the Internet via their own modems rather than the court's network.
While no one has been charged with any crime, the courts appear to have suspects. Within two weeks of the rig being discovered, a court terminated a contract with a company responsible for IT maintenance at the building, TVN24 reported. Before the contract was terminated, the company fired two employees who it said were responsible for maintaining the part of the building where the cryptographic machines were hidden.
Poland's top law enforcement official, the Internal Security Service, has been asked to intervene in the investigation. According to TVN24, the Warsaw District Prosecutor's Office has hired IT experts to help determine how much power was stolen from the Supreme Administrative Court in Warsaw, Poland.
No records of the Supreme Administrative Court, which is the last resort for sensitive commercial and tax disputes, appear to have been leaked. Judge Sylwester Marciniak, chairman of the Judicial Information Department of the Supreme Administrative Court, told TVN24 that the encryption machine was found to "not pose any threat to the security of data stored in the court."
While publicized cases are rare, Poland’s crypto mining rigs are not the only time public institutions have been targeted by malicious actors seeking to steal electricity to mine cryptocurrencies. Experts told TVN24 that dishonest miners are known to install illegal rigs in "inaccessible locations" in order to collect as much cryptocurrency as quickly as possible, or operate them during non-working hours when public institutions or businesses are usually closed.
In the United States, there is at least one prominent case of another crypto mining rig being installed illegally and covertly in a public institution. This case sheds light on how much power a device can steal.
Earlier this year, a cipher machine was discovered in the basement of a Massachusetts high school. It is powered by 11 computers, which are said to have been running around the clock for at least eight months.
A three-month investigation by the Department of Homeland Security resulted in a former employee, Nadeam Nahas, who served as the town's assistant director of facilities, accused of vandalizing the school and stealing at least $17,492 in electricity bills to run encryption machines.
Boston news station WHDH reported that police traced SKU numbers to pipes that Nahas allegedly installed to prevent the equipment from overheating. Nahas was reportedly "nervous" when faced with evidence that he purchased the materials from Home Depot and that his posts on Twitter revealed his strong interest in cryptocurrencies.
Nahas resigned in 2022 and as of June 2023, he had pleaded not guilty.