Tesla has made public a data breach affecting approximately 75,000 individuals, but the incident stems from a whistle-blower leak rather than a malicious cyber attack.
According to reports, Tesla recently disclosed a data breach that was identified in May, which led to the exposure of personal data belonging to over 75,700 individuals, including sensitive information like social security numbers. The company informed United States authorities about the breach.
According to reports, Tesla recently disclosed a data breach that was identified in May, which led to the exposure of personal data belonging to over 75,700 individuals, including sensitive information like social security numbers. The company informed United States authorities about the breach.
Affected individuals received notification letters detailing the situation. The data breach was traced back to a pair of former Tesla employees who had shared confidential data with the German media outlet Handelsblatt. These ex-employees were found to have "misappropriated the information in violation of Tesla’s IT security and data protection policies."
The compromised data encompasses names, contact details, and employment-related records related to both current and former Tesla employees. The company is extending credit monitoring and identity protection services to those impacted.
The leak originally came to light in May when Handelsblatt reported receiving a substantial amount of confidential Tesla data from an unidentified whistle-blower. The newspaper's report asserted that Tesla had inadequately safeguarded the data of its employees, customers, and partners.
Referred to as the 'Tesla Files,' the leaked documents were said to contain information about over 100,000 present and past employees, customer bank information, production secrets, and customer grievances pertaining to driver assistance systems.
The compromised data encompasses names, contact details, and employment-related records related to both current and former Tesla employees. The company is extending credit monitoring and identity protection services to those impacted.
The leak originally came to light in May when Handelsblatt reported receiving a substantial amount of confidential Tesla data from an unidentified whistle-blower. The newspaper's report asserted that Tesla had inadequately safeguarded the data of its employees, customers, and partners.
Referred to as the 'Tesla Files,' the leaked documents were said to contain information about over 100,000 present and past employees, customer bank information, production secrets, and customer grievances pertaining to driver assistance systems.
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| Tesla has disclosed a data breach impacting roughly 75,000 people, but the incident is the result of a whistleblower leak rather than a malicious cyberattack. |
Notably, Handelsblatt has assured Tesla that it has no intentions of publishing the personal data supplied by the whistle-blower. Given the context of the incident, the likelihood of the leaked data being exploited appears low; Tesla's decision to disclose the breach likely stems from legal obligations.
Upon the revelation of the leak, Tesla, whose legal representatives labeled the leaker as a "disgruntled former employee," took legal action against the individuals responsible for the breach. The company filed lawsuits that resulted in the seizure of the former employees' electronic devices, suspected to contain Tesla data. Court orders were also secured to prevent these ex-employees from further utilizing, accessing, or distributing the data, subject to potential criminal penalties, as detailed in the automaker's recent breach notification.
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