Security News > 2020 > August > Elon Musk Confirms Russian Hackers Attempted to Recruit Tesla Employee
The failed attempt by Russian hackers to recruit an employee to install malware onto an enterprise network was targeting electric car maker Tesla, a tweet from Elon Musk confirms.
According to the criminal complaint the DoJ made public earlier this week, Tesla's employee was approached by Kriuchkov in July, and the two met socially in early August, after Kriuchkov arrived in Nevada on a tourist visa.
A few days after meeting the employee, Kriuchkov revealed his true intentions: he asked the employee to install malware onto Tesla's network, offering between $500,000 and $1,000,000 for that.
The malware would provide Kriuchkov and co-conspirators with the ability to steal information from Tesla.
The employee warned Tesla and the company contacted the FBI. Details of the planned attack were revealed in several more meetings, which were surveilled by the FBI. Kriuchkov was arrested on August 22.
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