A former Tesla employee-turned-whistleblower has alerted UK authorities a few potential safety threat in regards to the EV maker’s supposed dealing with of worker knowledge. Lukasz Krupski, who joined Tesla in 2018, alleged that non-public info, together with passport numbers, medical particulars, and salaries of present and former Tesla staff internationally, amongst others, are accessible to employees, together with these in China, through inside methods.
In his communication with the Info Commissioner’s Workplace (ICO), the UK’s privateness watchdog, Krupski claimed that Tesla’s delicate knowledge was housed on a venture monitoring software program known as Jira, which was accessible to Tesla employees with out restrictions. The whistleblower warned that this poses a safety threat since people in China or Russia with doubtlessly conflicting agendas might entry the data.
In a remark to The Telegraph, the Tesla whistleblower famous that such knowledge might be used in opposition to the West. “It might be very helpful for Russian or Chinese language intelligence. People in these international locations who’ve energy, they’ve their very own agendas which (do) not essentially align with the Western world,” Krupski famous.
Among the many knowledge that might be accessed are particulars about different Tesla staff. These embrace CEO Elon Musk, whose private particulars are reportedly within the system. And whereas Tesla employed over 127,000 employees final yr, the database reportedly additionally consists of individuals who have left the corporate, together with their causes for doing so.
Earlier this yr, Tesla famous that it had tightened the safety across the system. Beforehand, the corporate acknowledged that the database might be accessed by anybody who has entry to a legitimate Tesla e mail handle. Journalists at Handelsblatt, who acquired Krupski’s leaked Tesla information, have famous that there have been indications that China-based Tesla staff had contributed to Jira tickets.
Krupski, who has described himself as a longtime electrical automotive fanatic and a “Tesla believer,” is understood for his whistleblowing actions. Earlier this yr, he shared a considerable amount of knowledge with German newspaper Handelsblatt. The leaked knowledge, which media businesses have dubbed the “Tesla Recordsdata,” included, amongst different issues, complaints from prospects about Tesla’s driver-assist methods.
Krupski has additionally been interviewed by the US Nationwide Freeway Site visitors Security Administration (NHTSA) and the Securities and Change Fee (SEC). Each businesses have ongoing probes into Tesla’s self-driving program. The UK ICO, for its half, has not issued a remark about whether or not it had regarded into the Tesla whistleblower’s claims. Tesla has additionally not posted a remark concerning the matter as of writing.
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