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The suspect in an Amsterdam Apple Retailer hostage incident demanded 200 million euros (greater than $226 million) in cryptocurrency as ransom.
A person took a hostage at an Apple Retailer in Amsterdam earlier this week and reportedly demanded 200 million euros (over $226 million) in cryptocurrency as ransom. Cyber-criminals asking for ransom in cryptocurrencies isn’t unprecedented, but it surely’s not typically {that a} gun-totting suspect holds hostages in broad daylight, and calls for cryptos in trade for his or her freedom.
The hostage drama began on Tuesday afternoon after a person entered an Apple Retailer within the Leidseplein space of Amsterdam with firearms. Leidseplein is a busy sq. on the finish of Amsterdam’s central canal ring and is believed to be well-liked amongst vacationers and locals alike. It’s dotted with bars, cafes, and eating places, most of which have been shut following the incident.
In response to The Related Press (through ABC Information), the suspect was an Amsterdam resident armed with a handgun and an computerized firearm. Having taken a hostage on the retailer, the suspect requested for cryptocurrencies price 200 million euros (over $226 million) in ransom in trade for the hostage, and free passage out of the town. Following a five-hour standoff with the Dutch authorities, the state of affairs finally got here to an finish when the suspect was run over by a police car whereas chasing the hostage who tried to flee. The injured man was rushed to the hospital, and pronounced useless. No one else, together with the hostage, cops, bystanders, or retailer staff, are understood to have been significantly damage within the incident.
Cryptocurrency As an alternative Of Money
The hostage-taker demanding crypto reasonably than money factors to the rising reputation of digital belongings, not solely amongst cyber-criminals but additionally amongst criminals in the true world. What attracts criminals in direction of cryptocurrencies is commonly the idea of anonymity, and the safety of figuring out that it could be virtually unimaginable for regulation enforcement to trace them down. Nevertheless, anonymity with cryptocurrencies is not at all times a given, as was confirmed just lately when a U.S. couple was tracked down and charged with conspiracy to launder cryptocurrency price $3.6 billion stolen from the 2016 Bitfinex hack.
Within the aftermath of the incident, Apple praised the Amsterdam police, in addition to clients and employees on the Leidseplein retailer. In an announcement obtained by TechCrunch, the corporate thanked the native regulation enforcement “for his or her distinctive work” and stated that employees and clients confirmed “unimaginable energy and resolve … underneath such difficult circumstances.” As for the shop itself, it was listed as ‘closed’ on Wednesday and Thursday following Tuesday’s incident. There are reportedly bullet holes within the Apple Retailer’s home windows as effectively.
Supply: AP/ABC Information, TechCrunch
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