Gart is running an independent security audit for , Europe's largest Bitcoin-only conference. Scope: a full audit of event security posture, plus a dedicated advisory track for speakers and VIP guests. We work directly with the organizing team and with the on-site security teams on the floor during the event. The audit covers every layer from the first checkpoint at the gate to the last car leaving the after-party: threat picture, access control, VIP flow, comms, incident protocols, escalation paths, rehearsals. Why this engagement exists: targeted attacks against publicly known crypto holders are no longer rare. Our dataset documents 75 physical attacks in 2025, climbing through 2026 (stats.gart.io). Conferences put many of the most publicly recognized, most doxxed figures in one venue, on a published schedule. That concentration is what makes the event work. It is also what creates a serious duty of care and BTC Prague completely owns it. We will not publish what we find or recommend. That, by design, is not something you share with the public. Read more: https://gart.io/blog/gart-blog-1/gart-to-do-an-independent-security-audit-for-europes-largest-bitcoin-conference-9

He was kidnapped by three fellow South Korean nationals who demanded a $10M USD ransom in cryptocurrency. The victim's associates transferred $3M USD before police got involved. Read more about this and other cases: https://stats.gart.io

April 17, 2026, Melaka, Malaysia 🇲🇾 In unlikely twist, police rescued a South Korean crypto kidnapping victim after 4 days of captivity, who turns out to be an Interpol-wanted fugitive https://stats.gart.io/#attack-432 #wrenchattack #security #opsec #crypto

Social engineering didn't hack Joe's computer, it got him kidnapped. :[ Every day we see several friends being hacked or just media posts about how someone tricked a victim through a legitimately looking call into downloading a backdoor and completely took over their computer. When it's "just" about a hacked computer or emptied bank account, victims learn a tough lesson and move on. But nobody talks about social engineering that leads to kidnapping, torture, or death. We want to share one such true story. This has never been publicized. Our team talked to a victim of a kidnapping for crypto who wanted to do a P2P trade. Let's call him Joe. A young European living somewhere in Central America. Won't share more details. Joe's first contact with his future kidnappers was through telegram. Text and voice messages convinced Joe to go ahead with the opportunity. The attackers first sent a person that Joe didn't feel good about: his voice was different from the one in the TG messages. He called the trade off. Well done, so far... However, the gang was determined. They adjusted their strategy after realizing they needed to send someone more trustworthy. The second potential trade peer pretended to be a novice to bitcoin. A normal looking middle-aged man. He met Joe at a bar. They talked for hours, and Joe genuinely started to like him. They parted ways with a loose plan to meet again "soon" and make the deal. The next day, Joe's peer called. The trade had to happen today and it had to be at his family house. The urgency was sudden, but Joe didn't hesitate. He liked the guy, he trusted him so he jumped in his car and headed out. Who wouldn't trust someone they'd already shared a drink with? Who wouldn't trust a family man? Right? Upon arrival, Joe realized this was no house, but an apartment building. He thought it was the language barrier. When he was let into the apartment, he was greeted by his peer and invited into a bedroom. So far all good. But soon after, Joe was surrounded by armed men, beaten, choked, and forced to transfer his crypto, which, unfortunately, was easily accessible from his phone. After several hours, they changed his clothes and masked him so that he could be transferred out of the apartment complex without facility cameras making a recording. In his own car, they drove him far out into the middle of nowhere, stopped in a poor neighborhood in a dark alley, and stepped out of the car. At that moment, Joe thought: That's it. I'm a dead man. He closed his eyes and waited, shaking. He was so scared that he sat there inside his car for a while. How long he doesn't remember well. He didn't dare look around. When finally he realized they were gone without killing him, he abandoned the car because they took his keys, his wallets and his phone. He started walking to look for help. Despite being careful, there we several red flags he ignored. Now Joe knows. But he will be recovering - financially, mentally and emotionally for a while. We hope this story can help you spot social engineering and avoid becoming yet another case in Gart's kidnapping stats page. If you're not sure how to avoid falling into a trap, whether in face to face or remote social engineering, invest one day of your life to get a prep with a professional. We mostly do private sessions which offer ideal amount of privacy and focus on the specific life situation. But those might not be accessible to everyone. So we do Open Group Gart Training - there's a few in our calendar for 2026 already. The closest will be 2 days ahead of BTC Prague. Sign up here: https://gart.io/event/gart-training-btc-prague-2026-3/register If you're not able to travel, you can as well book a remote advisory call via our website, just browse through it and you'll find what you need.

April 20, 2026, Finistère, France 🇫🇷 In Ploudalmézeau, a family was held captive and then robbed of €700,000 in cryptocurrencies https://stats.gart.io/#attack-431 #opsec #privacy #wrenchattack #physicalattacks #physicalsecurity

June 9 2026, just 2 days before we are organizing a whole day Gart training designed to improve physical security for bitcoiners. You will leave with: * personal threat model * extended OpSec checklist * custom response protocol * new mindset & operational habits * confidence to be able to act if a situation requires it. For program breakdown and booking go to https://gart.io/event/gart-training-btc-prague-2026-3/register

Apr 11, 2026, Saint-Jean-de-Védas, France 🇫🇷 Attempted kidnapping of a family for cryptocurrency near Montpellier: the father physically attacked the perpetrator, who fled and was later caught https://stats.gart.io/#attack-429 #security #opsec #wrenchattack

April 13, 2026, Val-de-Marne, France 🇫🇷 Kidnapping of a child and his mother: new crypto ransom demanded in Burgundy https://stats.gart.io/#attack-428 #bitcoin #security #opsec #physicalattacks #physicalsecurity

April 10, 2026, Anglet, France 🇫🇷 Home invasion at a villa in Anglet: 5 masked men were looking for a crypto entrepreneur https://stats.gart.io/#attack-427 #security #opsec #countersurveillance #wrenchattack

March 28, 2026, Hauts-de-Seine, France 🇫🇷 Attackers target a young crypto investor, go to the wrong address, and end up in police custody https://stats.gart.io/#attack-426 #security #opsec #privacy #wrenchattack

A victim who played dead. One who fought back. A witness who didn't freeze. A concierge who trusted their instincts. None of this is luck. It's awareness. It's posture. It's knowing that your security is your responsibility, and that you can actually do something about it. Hope is not a strategy. Check out our training and advisory options: https://gart.io/training #bitcoin #security #opsec #privacy #wrenchattack

January 19, 2026, Paris, France 🇫🇷 Organized crew targets a crypto couple's home. A building concierge noticed something was wrong and called police before they could act. Attempt thwarted. https://stats.gart.io/#attack-421 #bitcoin #security #opsec #wrenchattack