Exotic (and quixotic) security exploits

Can you think of 007-style, modern day heists that captured – if only briefly – the attention of the media?

An article I read recently on an ingenious attack that literally involves siphoning money out of a retail chain’s coffers (http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3149962/Robbers-clean-up-with-vacuum.html) led me to thinking about some of the most non-standard ways that today’s clever thieves get away with the loot, be in information or jewels.

The case of the Canadian hi-tech gentleman jewel thief  comes to mind (http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/03/ff_masterthief_blanchard/).  Gerald Blanchard jumping out of an airplane right onto the roof of the secure chambers that hosted the Koechert Diamond Pearl reads like the stuff of fiction, but it happens, and I’m sure someone is already set to play his part in a TV movie.

I don’t think it’s a good idea to romanticize thieves and criminals, but it’s certainly worth knowing about the diversity of attempts (and successes) at getting expensive things, be they pieces of art (http://designcrave.com/2009-06-11/art-theft-the-10-most-stunning-art-thefts-in-world-history/) or intangible assets (http://bizsecurity.about.com/od/privacyissues/a/Databreach_cases.htm).

Although this last link is purely a showcase of greed and the result of systematic attempts at satisfying aggressive profit motives,  I’m sure you’ve heard of some of the impossible stories of these dare-devil criminals who seem to do it in equal parts for the adrenalin rush and for the money. Feel free to share and post a link to the story here.