Tesla CEO Elon Musk has now confirmed his company was the target of a Russian cyberattack that could have held the company ransom for millions of dollars.
Drive Tesla was first to report on Wednesday the news that a Russian citizen entered the US and befriended an employee of Tesla’s Gigafactory 1 in Nevada in attempt to get the employee to install malware on Tesla’s network.
In a story that could be straight out of a Hollywood movie, a Tesla employee has helped the FBI arrest a Russian-born suspect who was attempting to inject malware into Tesla's network and hold the automaker for ransom https://t.co/0JT7apvUw4
— Drive Tesla 🇨🇦 (@DriveTeslaca) August 26, 2020
The malware was at first going to appear as a DDoS attack, but its intent was to occupy IT security and mask the second attack. This real attack would access and download critical data from Tesla’s network.
Fortunately the employee let Tesla know about the plan, who in turn contacted the FBI. A surveillance operation was put in place, leading to the eventual arrest of the suspect on August 22.
Responding to a tweet from Teslarati, which also covered the story and cited our article, Elon Musk confirmed Tesla was “Victim Company 1” in the Justice Department filing.
Confirming our earlier reporting Tesla was the intended target. @elonmusk make sure this employee gets a raise! https://t.co/SzWhBwnj7R
— Drive Tesla 🇨🇦 (@DriveTeslaca) August 27, 2020
