A Russian citizen who wanted to pay an employee to plant malware in a US company was apparently targeting electric car maker Tesla.
On Tuesday, the US Justice Department announced the arrest of 27-year-old Egor Igorevich Kriuchkov for the attempted hack. But at the time, federal investigators refrained from naming the “Nevada company” he was trying to steal data from.
Well, on Thursday, Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk confirmed his company was the intended target. This came amid reports that an employee at Tesla’s “Gigafactory” in Sparks, Nevada, was one who helped the FBI arrest Kriuchkov before the hack could take place.
“Much appreciated. This was a serious attack,” Musk wrote in a tweet.
According to the federal complaint against Kriuchkov, the Russian tried to recruit the unnamed Tesla employee into planting the malware for $1 million. The goal was to steal data from the automaker, and threaten to release it unless Tesla paid a ransom, which Kriuchkov expected to reach $4 million.
Whether Kriuchkov worked for the Russian government or had other ulterior motives in planting the malware is unclear. But the hacking attempt could’ve also stolen valuable trade secrets from Tesla.
Allegedly, Kriuchkov reached out to the unnamed Tesla employee via WhatsApp through a mutual acquaintance. He then traveled from Russia to the US, and stayed at a hotel in Sparks, Nevada, while trying to recruit the employee to his cause.
Fortunately for Tesla, the unnamed employee decided to report the hacking attempt to the automaker. The employee then began secretly assisting the FBI in helping them gather evidence against Kriuchkov, which led to his arrest.
As the federal complaint notes: “CHS1 (Confidental Human Source 1) is cooperating with the FBI because of patriotism to the United States and a perceived obligation to Victim Company A (Tesla). CHS1 has not asked for and has not been offered any form of payment, including consideration regarding immigration or citizenship.”
According to federal investigators, Kriuchkov has been working for a shadowy group in Russia that specializes in paying employees to plant malware inside their companies. "Kriuchkov claimed the oldest ‘project’ the ‘group’ had worked on took place three and a half years ago and the ‘group’s’ co-optee still worked for the company,” the FBI’s complaint says.
Once the malware is planted, Kriuchkov's group will proceed to extract data from the victim companies and threaten to release the information unless a ransom is paid. Which other companies Kriuchkov and his gang targeted remains unclear. But federal agents managed to arrest him in Los Angeles before he tried to leave the US. He now faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
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