A data heist is a proposed type of theft activity. Most wealthy figures carry a cranial data implant in their brain, which allows them to store and secure extremely sensitive data, such as financial records and access codes. The idea of a data heist is to steal this data to gain unauthorized access to this sensitive information.
The data heist committed by Max Da Costa had the intention of stealing bank account access codes from John Carlyle, but it went wrong when the data was accessed and the Sabre Cerebral Defense software activated, as well as the encrypted data program to restart Elysium's core computer appearing, giving the appearance of scrambled, incoherent data.