Former Tesla Employee Takes 100 GB of Confidential Data in Serious Data Breach

  • By Steven
  • Published: May 29, 2023
  • Last Updated: May 29, 2023

Tesla Data Breach

Tesla, one of the leading electronic vehicle manufacturers in the world today, recently suffered from a massive data breach that resulted in extensive data being released to the public. The company employs more than 127,000 individuals and has an annual revenue of $81.46 billion. A huge amount of employee data and proprietary technological information is held on the Tesla file servers, and allowing it to be hacked and released to the public is a huge security misstep. 

How Did the Attack Occur?

A former Tesla employee that served as a service technician stole the data and released it. The technician got away with more than 100 GB of data, including some very confidential documents and data points. The attack occurred quickly, and the employee will be sued for their actions. We don't know exactly how the technician was able to access all the information and get a copy of it, but we suspect that the IT credentials held by the individual were enough to enable them to get in, make copies, and get out. It's difficult for technicians to do their jobs properly without giving them increased access to files and documents, but it's likely this technician still did a bit of hacking to get access to the wide variety of protected documents they were able to steal. 

What Information Was Viewed or Stolen?

Among the 100 GB of files taken from Tesla, there were some very delicate data points. Employee email addresses, salaries, bank details, phone numbers, and Social Security numbers were taken. Even CEO Elon Musk's Social Security number was taken in the data breach. More than 100,000 individuals were impacted by this breach, and it's likely that wide-scale damage will occur because of this leaked information. 

How Did Tesla Admit to the Breach?

The breach was detected by a Dutch cybersecurity and threat reporting agency. Tesla has yet to comment about the breach, but it's likely that documents will be going out to employees as well as to government agencies to ensure everyone that needs to know is made aware of exactly what happened during the data breach. 

What Will Become of the Stolen Information?

While we can't speak for the attacker, the stolen Tesla data is likely to be sold to other companies, used for future cyber attacks, and utilized for fraudulent activities and identity theft. If the information is released publicly, it will be abused by a large number of people, and anyone involved will have to take steps to protect themselves. 

What Should Affected Parties Do in the Aftermath of the Breach?

If you receive a notice that your data was involved in this Tesla breach, you should consider canceling the financial accounts linked to the breach or at least monitoring the accounts closely. You should also invest in identity theft protection services or credit monitoring services to keep yourself safe. Be careful about the emails you respond to as well, and never supply anyone with confidential information via email.

About the Author
IDStrong Logo

Related Articles

Instagram Vulnerability Allowed Hackers Access to Control Your Phone

Security experts Check Point Research discovered a critical vulnerability while examining Instagra ... Read More

Alien Malware Infects More than 226 Mobile Apps and Steals Bank Data

As reported on September 24, 2020, by ZDNet and ThreatPost, a new strain of malware named “A ... Read More

Universal Health Systems Hit by Ransomware Attack

Universal Health Systems (UHS), a Fortune 500 company owning more than 400 hospitals across the co ... Read More

Exchange Server Bug Exposes a Big Risk to Hackers

Months after Microsoft released a patch to fix a serious flaw in MS Exchange Server, more than 61% ... Read More

Clients’ Bank Data Exposed in Blackbaud Ransomware Attack

Blackbaud software was victim to a ransomware attack last May, and new information suggests that c ... Read More

Latest Articles

Google Voice Scams: What They Are and How to Stay Safe

Google Voice Scams: What They Are and How to Stay Safe

Google Voice scams continue to pose a risk for users of this service. Scammers continuously attempt to lure users into divulging their verification PIN code.

What Are Pretexting Attacks: Scam Types and Security Tips?

What Are Pretexting Attacks: Scam Types and Security Tips?

Have you ever received a text from someone you do not know? Did you become alarmed by the message? Did the message contain information about you and the people you know?

What is a Time-based One-time Password (TOTP)?

What is a Time-based One-time Password (TOTP)?

Authentication is the process that verifies the user's identity to control access to resources, prevent unauthorized users from gaining access to the system, and record user activities (to hold them accountable for their activities).

Featured Articles

How to Buy a House with Bad Credit

How to Buy a House with Bad Credit

Buying your own home is the American Dream, but it might seem out of reach to those with bad credit. However, the good news is, if your credit is less than perfect, you do still have options and in most cases, can still buy a home.

How Secure Is Your Password? Tips to Improve Your Password Security

How Secure Is Your Password? Tips to Improve Your Password Security

Any good IT article on computers and network security will address the importance of strong, secure passwords. However, the challenge of good passwords is that most people have a hard time remembering them, so they use simple or obvious ones that pose a security risk.

Top 10 Senior Scams and How to Prevent Them

Top 10 Senior Scams and How to Prevent Them

Senior scams are becoming a major epidemic for two reasons. First, seniors often have a lot of money in the bank from a life of working hard and saving.

Notice

By proceeding with this scan, you agree to let IDStrong run a Free Scan of supplied parameters of your personal information and provide free preliminary findings in compliance with our Terms of Use and Privacy Notice. You consent to us using your provided information to complete the Free Scan and compare it against our records and breach databases or sources to provide your Free preliminary findings report.

Rest assured: IDStrong will not share your information with third parties or store your information beyond what is required to perform your scan and share your results.

Free Identity Threat Scan
Instantly Check if Your Personal Information is Exposed
All fields below are required
Please enter first name
Please enter last name
Please enter a city
Please select a state
Please enter an age
Please enter an email address
Close