Data breach at Tesla affects 75,000 employees, traced back to insiders

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【Summary】Tesla has admitted that a data breach affecting over 75,000 employees was carried out by insiders who leaked personal information to a foreign media outlet. The leaked information included names, contact details, employment records, and Social Security numbers. Tesla has filed lawsuits against the former employees and obtained court orders to prevent further use of the data. The media outlet claims it does not intend to publish the information.

FutureCar Staff Aug 26, 2023 4:54 PM PT

Data breach at Tesla affects 75,000 employees, traced back to insiders

Tesla, led by Elon Musk, has acknowledged that a data breach affecting over 75,000 employees was carried out by insiders within the company. The electric car manufacturer filed a data breach notice with the attorney general of Maine, revealing that an internal investigation uncovered two former employees who leaked personal information of more than 75,000 individuals to a foreign media outlet.

Steven Elentukh, Tesla's data privacy officer, stated, "The investigation revealed that two former Tesla employees misappropriated the information in violation of Tesla's IT security and data protection policies and shared it with the media outlet."

The leaked personal information included data concerning certain current and former employees, such as names, contact information (such as addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses), employment-related records, and Social Security numbers. In May 2023, a foreign media outlet named Handelsblatt informed Tesla that it had obtained confidential information from the company.

Tesla assured that Handelsblatt has stated it does not intend to publish the personal information and is legally prohibited from using it inappropriately. The company took immediate steps to contain the incident, assess its extent, and safeguard the affected information.

Tesla pursued legal action against the two former employees, resulting in the seizure of their electronic devices, which were believed to contain Tesla's information. Additionally, the company obtained court orders that prohibit the former employees from further using, accessing, or disseminating the data, with potential criminal penalties.

In May, Handelsblatt reported a "massive" breach at Tesla, disclosing employees' personal information and customer complaints about their cars. The publication obtained over 23,000 internal documents, known as the "Tesla Files," which contained 100 gigabytes of confidential data. The leak also included Elon Musk's Social Security number.