Criminal syndicates are increasingly targeting data center equipment during transit, causing losses reaching hundreds of millions of dollars. Recent incidents include the theft of $38 million in hardware in Reno, $15 million in semiconductors and Apple products in the same city, and $13 million in gear near the Mojave Desert.
Stolen items include servers, fiber-optic and copper cabling, RAM modules, routers, and drives. In one instance, a single trailer containing copper wire worth $300,000 was seized. Experts note that these shipments are often easier to steal than bank assets, as thieves operate with sophisticated methods.
Criminals gain access to freight broker accounts to monitor cargo manifests and shipping schedules. They use AI-generated IDs to infiltrate personnel roles and employ GPS beacon spoofing to misdirect tracking systems. Some heists involve physical force, such as ramming escort vehicles to facilitate a getaway.
Law enforcement and industry analysts suggest that international syndicates coordinate these thefts with overseas buyers already secured before the crime occurs. Much of the equipment is reportedly funneled to countries subject to U.S. AI export controls, including China, with suspicious activity also noted in India, Uzbekistan, and Pakistan.
