According to the statement made, Kriuchkov conspired with associates to recruit an employee of a company to introduce malware. His initial appearance was made in federal court in a conspiracy to recruit an employee of a company to introduce malicious soft
A Russian hacker tried to implant an employee malware scheme in a US company targeting Tesla, an electric maker.
US authorities arrested Egor Igorevich Kriuchkov (27), for attempting to recruit an employee to plant a piece of malware against a targeted company. The man was arrested on August 22 and appeared in court on August 24.
According to the statement made, Kriuchkov conspired with associates to recruit an employee of a company to introduce malware. His initial appearance was made in federal court in a conspiracy to recruit an employee of a company to introduce malicious software into the company’s computer network, extract data from the system, and extort ransom money from the company.
Kriuchkov arrived in the United States on July 28, using his Russian passport and a tourist visa. The Russian hacker contacted and met an employee from the target company several times to discuss the conspiracy. Kriuchkov promised to pay $1 million soon after the malware was introduced.
The malware contains a malicious software program designed to damage or perform other actions in the computer system and penetrate the company’s computer network. Through inserting such malware, Kriuchkov and his co-conspirators could obtain the sensitive information from the network and then blackmail them into paying the ransom, if not they would leak the stolen data. The malware could also initiate a DDoS attack in Tesla's system.
Kriuchkov also gave the employee a burner phone and urged him to leave the burner phone in airplane mode until after the money was transferred.
Tesla CEO, Elon Musk confirmed officially that Kriuchkov targeted his company.
The employee whose identity was not revealed has access to the electric car maker’s computer networks. The employee decided to warn Tesla, and the company reported the attempt to the FBI.
The FBI arrested Kriuchkov as he tried to fly out of the country, and if convicted, he could face up to five years in prison and a hefty fine.
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