Tesla CEO Elon Musk has confirmed that the company’s Gigafactory plant in Nevada was the target of an attempted cyberattack. The attempt was thwarted but Tesla has not yet publicly commented on the situation
However, Musk posted a tweet saying that the attempt “was a serious attack.”
Tesla employee turns down $1 million, works with FBI, and helps thwart a planned cybersecurity attack on Giga Nevada https://t.co/PwIt7x35As
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) August 27, 2020
The US Department of Justice had recently announced the arrest of a Russian, describing an attempt to introduce malware “into a Nevada company’s computer network.” The Department of Justice, however, did not mention Tesla in the announcement.
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According to the plot, the Russian tried to recruit an employee at the Tesla Gigafactory to help perpetuate the cyberattack and introduce the malware to its network.
The goal was to steal data and hold the information for ransom, according to the Justice Department. The employee was to also receive a bribe of $1 million to aid the attack, according to the Justice Department.
However, the plan failed when the Tesla employee notified the FBI and worked with the agency to thwart the attack. Further investigations then lead to the arrest of the Russian.
The suspect tried fleeing from the US after the FBI initially made contact. Afterward, he was charged with one count of conspiracy to intentionally cause damage to a protected computer.
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