Elon Musk Confirms Russians Tried to Hack Tesla Factory

A Russian man who traveled to the US was recently charged and indicted by US authorities for targeting a Nevada-based company and convincing the company's employees to plant malware in exchange for $1 million.

Elon Musk today revealed in a tweet that the Nevada-based company is Tesla. In a tweet, Musk wrote, “Much appreciated. This was a serious attack,” responded to Teslarati's report which mentioned the attack.

Attempts to hack Tesla and keep his secret by planting a malicious insider are thwarted when the employee approaches the FBI and provides the details to the authorities. According to court documents, the FBI has charged a man named Egor Igorevich Kriuchkov who tried to convince Tesla employees by approaching him on the WhatsApp messenger. The two had previously met in 2016.

After several meetings, the Russian man told his employees that he was working with a Russian hacking group and wanted the employee to install special malware on Tesla's internal systems. The man promised to give a gift of $1 million in return. Kriuchkov revealed that it would take $250,000 to develop malware.

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The hack was intended to install malware that works by uploading sensitive data files to remote servers, extorting carmakers, and demanding large sums of money in return for the files.

The documents reveal that the employee notified Tesla and the FBI after the first meeting with Kriuchkov, who has now been arrested and may face up to 5 years in prison if convicted.

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