My brother actually laughed at dinner and said, ‘I sold that useless laptop of yours for five hundred bucks. Finally got rid of your junk.’ My cousins cheered him on. Then he added, almost proudly, ‘Already handed it off to the buyer.’ I got up, stepped outside, and called my supervisor. By the time I made the report, the FBI cyber team was already tracking the device…

itself didn’t matter. It held encrypted credentials, controlled access layers, secure communications tools, and enough sensitive material that the wrong person wouldn’t need full access to create a crisis. Unauthorized attempts would trigger alarms. Biometric locks would stop login. Remote countermeasures existed.

But if the buyer knew what he had—

“Derek,continue reading …