Data Center Hardware Is Being Stolen in Transit

Data center hardware is no longer at risk only in warehouses and facilities; it is being targeted on the road as well. According to a news report, organized crime groups are seizing trucks or their cargo carrying servers and networking equipment, and a single shipment can yield tens of millions of dollars.

The report says that since June 2026 alone, computers and related hardware stolen in transit by various methods have been worth more than $100 million in total. Such thefts have reportedly been rising for the past few years, but this year a single incident in Reno saw $38 million worth of hardware go missing.

The numbers and the stolen equipment

The largest incident took place in Reno, where $38 million worth of hardware disappeared. In the same city in July 2025, a $15 million load of semiconductors and Apple products had also been stolen. June 2026 was particularly productive for thieves: $13 million worth of equipment was taken around the Mojave Desert, and a separate $10 million load of server rack components bound for Texas was stolen.

The stolen goods include servers, fiber optic and copper cables, RAM modules, drives, routers and various other hardware. The report does not mention GPUs by name, but servers headed for AI investments are likely to contain them. Even copper is a valuable target in its own right: one stolen trailer held $300,000 worth of copper alone. A cargo security expert says stealing such shipments is like stealing solid gold bars, and far easier than robbing a bank.

How the thefts are carried out

Every incident is different, but a general pattern emerges. The criminals first gain access to the online accounts of freight brokers or carriers. This lets them see cargo manifests and shipping schedules, and even impersonate freight companies. They then either follow a genuine shipment or create a fake one, and take delivery of the truck carrying the valuable load.

In some cases harsher methods come into play: security vehicles are deliberately rammed so the truck can drive away unimpeded. In these cases the driver is believed to have most likely been part of the plan, getting behind the wheel thanks to the spread of AI-generated identity documents and weak personnel verification procedures. Countermeasures against GPS trailer tracking have also been taken: in one incident, the thieves apparently broadcast a spoofed GPS signal that transmitted false coordinates, so that neither people nor automated systems noticed a problem.

Where does the stolen gear go?

The first assumption would be that the stolen hardware is sold on the secondhand market. But there is another dimension: the thieves are said to line up buyers abroad before the heist even takes place. Law enforcement officials believe the equipment is going to organizations in countries subject to strict US AI export controls, including China.

A platform that verifies carriers says it has seen suspicious activity linked to cargo theft in the US this year with ties to India, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Colombia and Moldova. An industry body official estimates that six to seven out of every ten stolen cargo shipments, whether or not they contain data center hardware, leave the country. An official at a supply chain management firm describes these structures as international syndicates run like companies, infiltrating every tier of the supply chain, including drivers and warehouse operators. They know where valuable goods are and who is handling them, he says, and they exploit the chain's weak points.