--- title: "Crypto Mining Rig Discovered Under Floor of Courthouse, Stealing Power" description: "Unbeknownst to one of Poland's highest courts, someone was running a crypto mining rig underground and stealing government electricity. " date: "2023-11-18" modified: "2023-11-18" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/crypto-mining-polish-court" categories: - "Blockchain" - "Cryptocurrency" - "Future Society" tags: - "bitcoin mining" - "crypto mining" - "poland" - "the digest" --- # Crypto Mining Rig Discovered Under Floor of Courthouse, Stealing Power ![Unbeknownst to one of Poland's highest courts, someone was running a crypto mining rig underground and stealing government electricity. ]() *\Image: Getty\* ## Electric Slide Unbeknownst to one of Poland's highest courts, someone was running a crypto mining rig directly under a government building — and stealing its electricity to boot. As [Poland's *TVN24* reports](), the rig's computers under the Supreme Administrative Court in Warsaw were discovered at the end of August by a maintenance worker, prompting an investigation that revealed the nature of the operation. According to *TVN24*'s reporting, the most energy-intensive of the computers were hidden inside ventilation ducts. The system was reportedly pilfering several thousand Polish zlotys of electricity per month, each of which is worth about a quarter of an American dollar. As far as who was behind the sneaky mining system, two "excavators" for the contractors that the government used to service its technical floor have been fired, and the company's contract was terminated following the discovery of the rig. A judge who sits on the administrative court, which is the highest court in a [separate branch of Poland's judiciary]() that deals primarily with business and tax disputes, confirmed to *TVN24* that the rig had been discovered, but said that there's no reason to believe any data from the court had been compromised or breached by the crypto operation. ## Keep On Mining Though there's not too much more information about the rig under Poland's highest administrative court, this kind of crypto energy-siphoning debacle isn't exactly rare and has been reported all over the world as miners attempt to [head off their spectacular energy costs]() by stealing someone else's electricity. Earlier this year, the [*Blockworks* blog reported]() that there has been a spate of energy thefts associated with crypto mining at the Malaysian state-owned Sarawak Energy facility. Working with police, the company found two rigs stealing electricity worth about $6,500 per month, which officials believe were working together. In fact, this isn't even the first time such a situation has happened in Poland. Two years ago, *TVN24* also broke news that an IT specialist was caught [running a secret mining rig]() from within Warsaw's police headquarters. As with this latest situation, an official from the Policja HQ said that none of its data had been breached by the employee moonlighting as a crypto miner. It takes a very specific type of person to not only steal electricity, but to do so from a government building — though we're sure for those who do it, the financial rewards must seem to outweigh the risks. **More on mining schemes:** [*Crypto Miners' New Hustle: Get the State to Pay Them to Shut Down When It's Hot Out*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()