Decrypted: Tesla’s ransomware near miss, Palantir’s S-1 risk factors

Another busy week in cybersecurity.

In case you missed it: A widely used messaging app used by over a million protesters has several major security flaws; a little-known loophole has let the DMV sell driver’s licenses and Social Security records to private investigators; and the U.S. government is suing to reclaim over $2.5 million in cryptocurrency stolen by North Korean hackers from two major exchanges.

But this week we are focusing on how a Tesla employee foiled a ransomware attack, and, ahead of Palantir’s debut on the stock market, how much of a risk factor is the company’s public image?


THE BIG PICTURE

Russian charged with attempted Tesla ransomware attack

$1 million. That’s how much a Tesla employee would have netted if they accepted a bribe from a Russian operative to install malware on Tesla’s Gigafactory network in Nevada. Instead, the employee told the FBI and the Russian was arrested.

The Justice Department charged the 27-year-old Russian, Egor Igorevich, weeks later as he tried to flee the United States. According to the indictment, his plan was to ask the employee to deliberately deploy ransomware on the Gigafactory’s network, grinding the network to a halt for a ransom of several million dollars. The would-be insider threat is likely the first of its kind, one ransomware expert told Wired, as financially driven hackers continue to up their game.

Tesla founder Elon Musk tweeted earlier this week confirming that Tesla was the target of the failed attack.

The attack, if carried out, could have been devastating. The indictment said that the malware was designed to extract data from the network before locking its files. This data-stealing ransomware is an increasing trend. These hacker groups not only encrypt a victim’s files but also exfiltrate the data to their servers. The hackers typically threaten to publish the victim’s files if the ransom isn’t paid.

Palantir says its controversial work with ICE could be an IPO ‘risk factor’

In July, secretive data analytics startup Palantir confidentially filed its S-1 paperwork to take the company public. Last week, TechCrunch got its hands on a leaked copy, which revealed more than half of its revenue derives from government contracts.

This week, Taylor Hatmaker and I dug into the company’s risk factors — that is, what investors need to know about the possible pitfalls in going public. Chief among those risk factors is the company’s controversial (if not highly publicized) work with U.S. immigration authorities, which Palantir said had “attracted, and may continue to attract, significant attention from news and social media outlets.”

Although the S-1 didn’t name Palantir’s customers, the company’s technology is known to be used in helping U.S. authorities in deportations.

We also reported that Palantir said it may challenge a government order seeking to “obtain encryption keys, or to modify or weaken encryption.” It’s a position that aligned the secretive company with that of other Silicon Valley tech giants, which in the wake of the Edward Snowden disclosures in 2013 vowed to fight against government efforts to undermine encryption.


MOVERS AND SHAKERS

Apple’s upcoming iOS 14 release comes with a new privacy feature that lets users opt-out of in-app tracking, dealing a massive blow to targeted advertisers. Facebook, which relies on advertising for 98% of its global annual revenue, is not pleased, spitting feathers in two blog posts last week to decry the move.

Facebook said Apple’s privacy efforts will “severely impact” Facebook’s Audience Network, which uses Facebook profile data to target ads at you on other websites. Those websites, Facebook said, will make less money. And who’s to blame? Not Facebook, the social media giant said. Instead, it’s Apple’s fault for making it more difficult for advertisers, like Facebook, and its publishers to make money off of your data.

As The Register explained with deep sarcasm:

It’s hard to imagine how Tim Cook sleeps at night knowing that he is purposely ruining people’s lives by not allowing Facebook to sell people’s personal data to help mom-and-pop stores. And Facebook is nothing if not generous, pointing out that “in 2019 we paid out billions of dollars” – according to “Facebook internal data.”

Cue the world’s tiniest violin.


$ECURITY $TARTUPS

Berbix has raised $9 million in a Series A round for its identity-verification platform. The round was led by Mayfield, with participation from existing investors Initialized Capital, Y Combinator and Fika Ventures. Berbix helps verify the ages and identities of users — particularly for the emerging cannabis industry.

Tampa, Florida-based ReliaQuest, a cybersecurity managed service platform, has raised over $300 million in new growth financing led by global investment firm KKR, with participation from Ten Eleven Ventures. ReliaQuest’s proprietary platform, GreyMatter, gives IT admins deep visibility into their networks to manage and mitigate security risks.


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