Security News > 2020 > September > Russian Pleads Not Guilty in Foiled Tesla Ransomware Plot
2020-09-25 10:21
A Russian citizen accused of offering a Tesla employee $1 million to enable a ransomware attack at the electric car company's plant in Nevada denied wrongdoing Thursday before a federal magistrate judge.
Kriuchkov, 26, also told U.S. Magistrate Judge Carla Baldwin that he knew the Russian government was aware of his case.
Court documents say Kriuchkov was in the United States on a Russian passport and a tourist visa when he tried to recruit an employee of what was identified as "Company A" to install software enabling a computer hack.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has acknowledged his company was the target of what he termed a serious effort to collect company secrets.
Kriuchkov spoke Thursday in English and had a Russian translator available.