Most real crime stories are about how stupid most criminals are. Occasionally, though, you get the ingenious ones, though even here you see lapses — they got caught, after all.

The Untold Story of the World’s Biggest Diamond Heist

The Genius pulled a custom-made slab of rigid aluminum out of his bag and affixed heavy-duty double-sided tape to one side. He stuck it on the two plates that regulated the magnetic field on the right side of the vault door and unscrewed their bolts. The magnetic plates were now loose, but the sticky aluminum held them together, allowing the Genius to pivot them out of the way and tape them to the antechamber wall. The plates were still side by side and active—the magnetic field never wavered—but they no longer monitored the door. Some 30 hours later, the authorities would marvel at the ingenuity.

Sounds like a movie plot (Schneier agrees), and I wouldn’t be surprised if it becomes one. Maybe Hollywood can even do that without wrecking the story.