Tesla Busts Russian Hacker Group Trying To Bribe Employee $1M To Infect Network

[Doc Reeves 6434]

Sneaky Russians...

We should stop hating each other and start hating the Russians again. 

 

 

Tesla’s Nevada Gigafactory was the target of a concerted plot to cripple the company’s network with malware, CEO Elon Musk confirmed on Thursday afternoon.

The plan's outline was divulged on Tuesday in a criminal complaint that accused a Russian man of offering $1 million to the employee of a Nevada company, identified only as “Company A,” in exchange for the employee infecting the company’s network. The employee reported the offer to Tesla and later worked with the FBI in a sting that involved him covertly recording face-to-face meetings discussing the proposal.

“The purpose of the conspiracy was to recruit an employee of a company to surreptitiously transmit malware provided by the coconspirators into the company’s computer system, exfiltrate data from the company’s network, and threaten to disclose the data online unless the company paid the coconspirators’ ransom demand,” prosecutors wrote in the complaint.

Musk: “This was a serious attack”

Until Thursday afternoon, the identity of Company A was uncertain, although there was plenty of Twitter speculation—and several sourceless blog reports—that Tesla’s site in Nevada was the target. In a Tweet responding to one of the unconfirmed reports, Musk wrote: “Much appreciated. This was a serious attack.”
 

Tuesday’s charging document, which was filed in federal court in Nevada, detailed an extensive and determined attempt to infect Company A’s network. Defendant Egor Igorevich Kriuchkov, 27, allegedly traveled from Russia to Nevada and then met with the unnamed employee on multiple occasions. When Kriuchkov’s initial $500,000 bid failed to clinch the deal, the defendant doubled the offer, prosecutors said.

Wining, dining, and boozing

According to the complaint, Kriuchkov wined, dined, and boozed the employee, and when discussing especially sensitive details, conducted conversations in cars. When FBI agents couldn’t conduct physical surveillance in restaurants or bars, the employee recorded them.

One alleged meeting occurred on August 7 in a car Kriuchkov rented. Referring to the employee as CHS1—short for confidential human source No. 1—prosecutors described it this way:

......

.......

Besides targeting an iconic car maker, the plot is notable for other reasons. One is its sheer audacity and recklessness. As security researcher and reformed teenage cybercrime hacker Marcus Hutchins noted on Twitter: “One of the benefit of cybercrime is criminals don't have to expose themselves to unnecessary risk by conducting business in person. Flying into US jurisdiction to have malware manually installed on a company's network is absolutely insane.”

Musk didn’t elaborate on his two-sentence Twitter confirmation, and Tesla representatives didn’t respond to an email seeking comment for this post.

The plot and its cast of characters—replete with villains, heroes and whatever Musk is—make for an interesting backstory and possibly a dramatic TV reenactment. For now, readers will have to content themselves with additional reading in Wednesday’s coverage of the complaint.

[Helobious 9511]

Hopefully the Tesla employee was smart enough to get some kind of money or benefits from the FBI in exchange for the info. Fuck turning down $1 million for nothing. Then again he could’ve easily gotten busted or double-crossed. I guess he made the right choice.

[High Plains Drifter 11062]

 

The plot and its cast of characters—replete with villains, heroes and whatever Musk is...

 

lol

[Neonmoon 38130]

Russia is our enemy. They always have been under Putin. They can’t beat us militarily and thus have changed focus to tactics of destabilization. We are losing right now. 

[Brisketexan 105624]

2 minutes ago, Neonmoon said:

Russia is our enemy. They always have been under Putin. They can’t beat us militarily and thus have changed focus to tactics of destabilization. We are losing right now. 

Because we aren't even fighting.  In fact, we're putting more effort into "how can I cooperate with/take advantage of" the destabilization efforts.

[Doc Reeves 6434]

14 minutes ago, Neonmoon said:

Russia is our enemy. They always have been under Putin. They can’t beat us militarily and thus have changed focus to tactics of destabilization. We are losing right now. 

 

13 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Because we aren't even fighting.  In fact, we're putting more effort into "how can I cooperate with/take advantage of" the destabilization efforts.

 

There are quite a few records and taped interviews of former Russian spies who L.O.L. when describing the delight they had in paying small sums of money for Americans (usually unknowingly but sometimes aware) to completely sell-out their country.

 

[Brisketexan 105624]

36 minutes ago, Doc Reeves said:

 

 

There are quite a few records and taped interviews of former Russian spies who L.O.L. when describing the delight they had in paying small sums of money for Americans (usually unknowingly but sometimes aware) to completely sell-out their country.

 

We have committed to being a culture of 100% me, and 0% we, and this is how it ends up.  Utterly predictable, and totally self-destructive.

[Dennis Taylor 19084]

who knew there were two spellings of Igor/ Egor...?

[idigTexas 2297]

30 minutes ago, Dennis Taylor said:

who knew there were two spellings of Igor/ Egor...?

[RDCanecutter 26561]

For 50 bucks I'll go throw a rock at a Tesla. Hell, it doesn't even have to be a Tesla. Just tell me what you want.

[PRONG HORN 3164]

On 8/28/2020 at 10:07 AM, Helobious said:

Hopefully the Tesla employee was smart enough to get some kind of money or benefits from the FBI in exchange for the info. Fuck turning down $1 million for nothing. 

[AUS-97HORN 11884]

Unless Elon does something like paying the employee the $1M to go hide, this employee's info is now known by members of the Russian fucking mafia..... thats NOT a good thing especially since their scam is being put on blast.

These are the same Russian mafia guys who dont fucking care if they get put in an American jail becuase its soft time compared to Russian gulags (or jails, or whatever the fuck their incarceration places are called)

so they know who the employee is and hes just being happy-go-lucky and saying they bullshit the Russian mob?

[Parliament 14390]

There was an Archer episode about this.  IIRC, Ceril let them hack ISIS for a coupla handys.  From Asian ninjas, but still.

[F250 28959]

On 8/28/2020 at 10:35 AM, Doc Reeves said:

 

 

There are quite a few records and taped interviews of former Russian spies who L.O.L. when describing the delight they had in paying small sums of money for Americans (usually unknowingly but sometimes aware) to completely sell-out their country.

 

They often target people in tough spots which is why people in financial trouble are considered security risks. Shit, if you are going through a nasty divorce and in a custody battle you will be considered a risk and scrutinized. Some dude caught up in a custody battle might not be thinking straight and could possibly see a foriegn payment as a lifeline and not treason. Hell, he probably doesn't even know his legal funds are sponsored by a foreign government.

One of the things the government pounds into your head is "how do I avoid the temptation of betraying my country?" Answer: Never let anyone without clearance know what you work on so they can't tempt you. If someone does approach you, report that shit ASAP because if you take too long it implies you considered it or may have agreed but changed your mind.

 

 

[Chooky 13321]

 

[Samson's Wig 3196]

On 8/28/2020 at 11:12 AM, Brisketexan said:

We have committed to being a culture of 100% me, and 0% we, and this is how it ends up.  Utterly predictable, and totally self-destructive.

Well, I guess we could go the completely opposite direction and be . . . Russia.  

Somewhere in the middle is the sweet spot, clearly, but I'm not sure how you maintain that or if it even makes sense to try.