Russian Man Deported From US After Trying To Hack Tesla, Bribe Tesla Employee

A Russian national who pleaded guilty in March to working to recruit a Tesla employee to hack the Nevada-based company for $500,000 was sentenced on Monday, May 24th to be deported from the United States.

Egor Igorevich Kriuchkov, 27, appeared before the court by videoconference from his holding cell. He apologized to the US District Judge Miranda Du in Reno who acknowledged that the attempted hack was not successful and the company network was not compromised.

“I’m sorry for my decision. I regret it,” Kriuchkov communicated with the help of a Russian-language court interpreter.

Kriuchkov has reportedly been in US custody for the last nine months. He said that the time he spent in custody has made him reflect on the pain and suffering he has inflicted on his family in Russia and the irreversible damage that the incident has caused to his reputation, reported Al Jazeera.

“I understand it was a bad decision,” said Kriuchkov, who could have easily faced up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Kriuchkov reportedly tried to convince an unnamed Tesla employee last year to launch malware against the company’s computer network, allowing Kriuchkov and co-conspirators to steal data.

The gang had planned to launch a distributed denial of service attack against Tesla to divert the company while the gang extracted their data. The gang had then planned to extort Tesla for a "substantial payment." Insider reported in August that their expected ransom would have been around $4 million.

According to his plea agreement, Kriuchkov allegedly traveled between Russia, California, and Nevada on multiple occasions and met with an unnamed Tesla employee from Tesla's Reno, Nevada gigafactory multiple times throughout August.

The Department Of Justice said Kriuchkov reportedly took the employee out for drinks multiple times and also provided him with a phone instructing him to delete their communications. Federal authorities credited the employee for reporting the matter to company officials.

According to court documents, the company lost about $14,824.89 in investigating the intrusion. Even though the court documents do not name Tesla as the victim company, CEO, Elon Musk, reportedly confirmed last year that his carmaker was the target.

Kriuchkov was sentenced to 10 months in custody for his guilty plea in March. He was fined to pay about $14,825 in restitution for the company's resources investigating the attempted intrusion and turning the case over to the FBI.

He is also sentenced to three years of federal supervision if he remains in the US or returns from abroad. He will remain in custody until he leaves the country.