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According to Electrek, an FBI complaint describes how the feds helped plot Russian hackers to target Tesla’s Nevada Gigafactory with a massive ransomware hack and data leak.
It is worth noting that the complaint itself never explicitly states that the purpose of the hack was Tesla, even though its Gigafactory is located outside of Sparks, Nevada. Electrek, though, reports as fact that Tesla is the target. We have reached out to Tesla for additional information and we will update as new info comes to light.
Wheel money
According to the complaint, a 27-year-old Russian hacker named Egor Igorevich Kriuchkov traveled to the United States this summer, where he was looking for an anonymous Russian-speaking employee.
After socializing with the unnamed employee, Kriuchkov made an eyebrow-raising offer – saying he would pay the insider $ 1 million to introduce malware into the company’s internal computer systems.
Hack on it
However, the employee did not take the bait. Instead, according to the FBI, he informed his employer, who ran into the FBI. The FBI then helped set up a sting operation in which the employee recorded communications and other evidence.
Strikingly – because Tesla founder Elon Musk is a known lover of video games – the FBI complaint contains a possible Easter Egg: during communication with the hacker, the unnamed Tesla employee Kriuchkov asked for the code name “DeadSpace22.”
Editor’s Note: A reader pointed out that although Electrek reports that the company referred to in the FBI complaint is Tesla, the complaint itself never mentions the company. We’ve updated the post to reflect that ambiguity and reach out to Tesla for additional comment.
READ MORE: Tesla and FBI prevent $ 1 million ransomware hack at Gigafactory Nevada [Electrek]
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