This theft reminds me of the Auburn football team laptop theft. In the Auburn case, the laptop contained actual game plans–call it “athletic espionage.” The thief turned out to be a drifter, not a spy.

The London Evening Standard reports that former Cologne coach Christoph Daum suffered the ever-so-common laptop theft at the airport. But in an interesting twist, the thieves contacted Daum and demanded 100,000 euros as a ransom for the laptop, which contained details of a contract Daum was about to sign, numerous private documents, and his will.

The documents were “password protected” which, security experts agree, is almost worthless security. But Daum’s attorney does mention that breaking the passwords (or bypassing, presumably) is a particular crime of its own.

Daum doesn’t plan to pay the ransom, but says he would pay a much smaller one.

Protect that data!