Tesla Data Breach: Insiders Misappropriated Employee Data, Impacted 75,000

Tesla Inc.'s data breach that occurred in May had a significant impact, affecting more than 75,000 individuals and involving employee-related records. The breach was attributed to "insider wrongdoing," as detailed in a notice released by the Maine Attorney General's office on Friday.

The breach had repercussions for a total of 75,735 individuals, including nine residents of Maine. These individuals are believed to be both current and former employees of the automotive company headquartered in Austin, Texas.

In a letter dated August 18, which accompanied the data breach notification to the affected parties, Tesla conveyed that a foreign media outlet named Handelsblatt had informed the company on May 10, 2023, about its possession of confidential information belonging to Tesla. The subsequent investigation revealed that two ex-employees of Tesla had inappropriately accessed and shared the information with the media outlet, thereby violating the company's IT security and data protection policies.

To address the situation, Tesla initiated legal actions against the two former employees, though specific jurisdictions were not mentioned in the communication. The company's actions resulted in the confiscation of electronic devices that were believed to contain proprietary company information.

Furthermore, the letter highlighted that Tesla obtained court orders that not only restrained the former employees from any further use, access, or dissemination of the compromised data but also subjected them to potential criminal penalties. Throughout the process, Tesla cooperated closely with law enforcement agencies and engaged external forensic experts to ensure the necessary actions were taken.

As of now, there has been no immediate response from Steven Elentukh(Tesla's data privacy officer) on this matter.