micron
DDR5 RAM memory chips
These days, memory is worth more than gold. We’re talking about RAM memory: in the last quarter of 2025, its value quadrupled, and rising prices are leading thieves to selectively steal these chips.
A high capacity RAM memory has become the most coveted hardware asset in 2026, supplanting traditional materials such as copper or gold. At least, in the eyes of thieves.
A highly selective theft in South Korea, revealed by a user on the Korean technology forum, highlights how this critical component has become an authentic goose that lays the golden eggsdriven by shortages and unprecedented price escalation.
According to , the robbery occurred in a technical office of an industrial facility, where the perpetrator of the robbery acted with a unusual precision. He only broke the tempered glass panels of two desktop computers to access their interior, without taking monitors, peripherals nor other elements of apparent value, which confirms a planned and not opportunistic action.
The objective was to steal exclusively four Micron DDR5-5600 modules 32 GB, with CL46 latencies — a range taken from the consumer market. The estimated value of the stolen material is around 1.200 eurosa value that reflects the level of appreciation achieved by DDR5 memory in recent months.
This theft is part of a context of strong increase in the price of DDR5 memory. During the last quarter of 2025, 64 GB DDR5-5600 kits reached average prices close to those 690 euroscompared to around 170 it cost just a few weeks earlier, according to data from .
More advanced settings, such as DR5-6000reached over 750 euros, while lower capacity modules, such as the 16 GB DDR5-5200, they easily exceed 85 euros per unit.
According to , this escalation is mainly the result of supply limitations and bottlenecks in memory production of high performance and the high demand resulting from its use in data centers that feed Artificial Intelligence applications.
The combination of high value, small size and ease of resale changed the patterns of technological theft. Added to this is the popularization of boxes with transparent sides, which allow you to quickly identify systems equipped with DDR5, increasing their vulnerability in professional environments.
Given this scenario, experts recommend that physical security of equipment is reinforced, that access to technical areas is limited, and that the most valuable components are hidden.
As long as market pressure persists, DDR5 memory will continue to be one of the most attractive assets of the current technological ecosystem.
