‘Customer data and trade secrets on the street’
The Dutch Data Protection Authority is examining whether it should launch an investigation into a major data breach at Tesla. Via a former employee in Germany, 100 gigabytes of data from customers and employees, among others, are said to be on the street.
The German newspaper Handelsblatt came out on Thursday with information about the leak. The watchdog in the German state of Brandenburg called in the Dutch Data Protection Authority (AP) because Tesla’s European headquarters is in Amsterdam. It is up to the AP to determine whether an in-depth investigation is needed into the case.
According to the message, the leaked data includes employee citizen service numbers. That also includes that of CEO Elon Musk. Furthermore, the leak contains according to Handelsblatt private e-mail addresses, telephone numbers and salaries. Customer bank details have also been stolen.
In addition, secret data about the cars themselves would be on the street. It would appear that there are thousands of complaints about the autopilot of the Teslas, for example about sudden acceleration or braking. That is not very surprising, because by means of a ‘bug report’ Tesla drivers can easily forward such a complaint on the road. Tesla would instruct employees to withhold information about the incidents to avoid charges.
‘Never experienced before’
According to the supervisor in Brandenburg, this is a ‘huge’ data breach, the Algemeen Dagblad reports. “I’ve never experienced such a large scale before,” says a representative there. He has transferred the file to the Dutch AP. A spokesperson declined to comment on the matter. “We have been informed and are reviewing the case. That’s all I can say about it.” It usually takes several weeks for the authority to determine whether an official investigation is necessary.
The data would have been stolen by a “disgruntled ex-employee,” a Tesla lawyer said Handelsblatt. As a service technician, he would have had access to the data. Tesla is investigating whether the man can be prosecuted.
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– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl