If it was properly encrypted, no amount of brute force will work - not in realistic timelines (as in, less than centuries), even with GPUs and the like. It doesn't apply to bitcoin only, as an aside: if you were to encrypt something with a large GPG key, for example, even the largest intelligence agencies / state actors on the planet wouldn't be able to decrypt it without the key.
Unbreakable encryption has been available to everyone for a long time now, and will stay there until quantum computing takes off (if it ever does).
But if you have an idea that the password is from a password bank of this guy - suddenly decryption takes way less time.
He’s being a baby about it, as he could probably hire someone to setup a way to get more guesses for a large sum of money, but less than 220 million. There’s a good chance this article existed so he could sell the drive for a few million to someone who has the resources.
If it was properly encrypted, no amount of brute force will work - not in realistic timelines (as in, less than centuries), even with GPUs and the like. It doesn't apply to bitcoin only, as an aside: if you were to encrypt something with a large GPG key, for example, even the largest intelligence agencies / state actors on the planet wouldn't be able to decrypt it without the key.
Unbreakable encryption has been available to everyone for a long time now, and will stay there until quantum computing takes off (if it ever does).
It need only be large enough
My large adult GPG key
But if you have an idea that the password is from a password bank of this guy - suddenly decryption takes way less time.
He’s being a baby about it, as he could probably hire someone to setup a way to get more guesses for a large sum of money, but less than 220 million. There’s a good chance this article existed so he could sell the drive for a few million to someone who has the resources.