This week, Tesla managed to stop a Russian ransomware attack. After Tesla’s alert, the FBI arrested a 27-year-old Russian on cyberattack charges.
The Possible Ransomware Attack on Tesla
The website Electrek reported on the cooperation between Tesla and the FBI. Their efforts led to the arrest of Egor Igorevich Kriuchkov. The FBI said Kriuchkov belonged to a group that tried a ransomware attack against Tesla. In the report, the FBI said the group wanted to attack the Tesla Gigafactory in Nevada.
How the Tesla Attack Almost Happened
According to the FBI, Egor visited the US on a tourist visa. He called a Russian-speaking employee at the factory. The two met a few times. Then Egor asked the man to help him upload ransomware to Tesla’s internal network. Egor would pay him $1 million for the job. Through the attack, Egor would hold Tesla’s corporate data for ransom. If they refused to pay, he would sabotage its operations.
However, the man warned Tesla about the plans. In turn, Tesla called the FBI. They began a sting operation. The police arrested Kriuchkov in Los Angeles before he could leave the US.
Much appreciated. This was a serious attack.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 27, 2020
Other Recent Ransomware Attacks on US Companies
Other hacker groups had attacked US companies recently. Hacker groups attacked the CWT Group in July. To get their files back, the company to pay $4.5 million in ransom.
Travelex also paid a $2.3 million ransom to hackers. Smartwatch maker Garmin and cruise company Carnival had also suffered similar attacks. In response to the failed attack on Tesla, CEO Elon Musk tweeted to confirm the incident.