Key facts
- Cybersecurity firm CertiK has classified the abduction of Nancy Guthrie as a potential "wrench attack by proxy."
- The classification suggests a possible $6 million Bitcoin ransom demand was involved in the kidnapping.
- Retired FBI Special Agent Jennifer Coffindaffer called the development a "huge breakthrough" for the investigation.
- A wrench attack involves using force or threats to gain access to digital assets.
- Investigators may be able to trace digital transactions if the cryptocurrency theory is accurate.
More than four months after Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of "Today" co-host Savannah Guthrie, disappeared from her Tucson, Arizona, home, a cybersecurity firm has suggested a potential link to cryptocurrency. CertiK has classified the abduction as a possible "wrench attack by proxy," a crime where force is used to gain access to digital assets, and indicated a reported $6 million Bitcoin ransom demand was involved.