Tesla data breach: Inside job affects 75,000 employees

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【Summary】Tesla has admitted that a data breach affecting 75,000 employees was carried out by insiders. Two former employees leaked personal information to a foreign media outlet, including names, contact information, employment records, and Social Security numbers. The media outlet has stated that it will not publish the information, and Tesla has taken legal action to prevent further use or dissemination of the data.

FutureCar Staff Aug 22, 2023 9:30 AM PT

Tesla data breach: Inside job affects 75,000 employees

Tesla, the electric car maker led by Elon Musk, has disclosed that a data breach affecting over 75,000 employees was carried out by insiders within the company. The breach was revealed in a notice filed with the attorney general of Maine, in which Tesla stated that an internal investigation had uncovered that two former employees had 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 related to certain current and former employees, such as their names, contact information (such as address, phone number, and email address), employment records, and Social Security numbers. A foreign media outlet named Handelsblatt informed Tesla on May 10, 2023, that it had obtained confidential information belonging to Tesla.

Tesla assured that the media outlet had stated it did not intend to publish the personal information and was legally prohibited from using it inappropriately. The company took immediate action to contain the incident, assess its extent, and safeguard the affected information.

Tesla initiated legal action against the two former employees, resulting in the seizure of their electronic devices, which were believed to contain Tesla's confidential information. The company also obtained court orders that prevent the former employees from further using, accessing, or disseminating the data, subject to criminal penalties.

In May, Handelsblatt reported a "massive" breach at Tesla, revealing a wide range of information, including employees' personal details 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. It was also reported that Elon Musk's Social Security number was among the leaked information.