Bitcoin Mining Plot Exposed at Top Secret Nuclear Plant, Arrests Made

Several scientists working at a top-secret Russian nuclear warhead facility have been arrested for allegedly mining cryptocurrencies. 

The suspects had tried to use one of Russia's most powerful supercomputers to mine Bitcoins at the restricted Federal Nuclear Centre in Sarov, western Russia, media reports say.

The centre's press service said: "There has been an unsanctioned attempt to use computer facilities for private purposes including so-called mining."

The BBC noted that the supercomputer was not supposed to be connected to the internet as a means of preventing intrusion - and once the scientists attempted to do so, the nuclear centre's security department was alerted.

"As far as we are aware, a criminal case has been launched against them," the press service told Interfax news agency.

Mining crypto-currencies requires great computational power and huge amounts of energy.

- Gilbert Horowitz, Gambling911.com