A cybersecurity startup based in New York, Red Balloon Security, sends applicants a hard drive with Bitcoin locked on it as a test task. This is reported by Business Insider.
The kit also includes an adapter, a note with instructions and several boxes of Nerds candies.
Source: Business Insider.
On the hard drive, 0.1337 BTC is locked (about $4,845 at the time of writing). The amount is not random: in hacker slang, ‘leet’ means ‘elite’.
Within a week, the applicant must gain access to the cryptocurrency wallet. If successful, part of the funds must be spent on buying a ticket to New York to meet a representative of Red Balloon Security.
The company ships packages to almost everyone who applies. Of 150-200 shipments, only one applicant successfully completes the assignment.
Red Balloon regularly changes the contents of the test so that applicants cannot share their work online.
Source: Business Insider.
Founded in 2011, Red Balloon specializes in Internet of Things security. In 2018 it raised $21.9 million in Series A funding.
Now the company employs 29 people. Six joined in 2020 after successfully passing the Bitcoin wallet hacking test.
In July 2020, Ethereum 2.0 developers proposed hackers hack two testnets for $5,000 each.
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