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HO ME PAG E  CYBE R S E CURIT Y NE W S

Cyber Security News

Tesla Employees Shared

Sensitive Images of Cameras
on Customers‘ Cars

Reuters reported that between 2019 and 2022, groups of Tesla employees secretly
shared via internal messaging system occasionally highly intrusive recordings and
photographs captured by consumers’ car cameras.

A notable statement from Tesla Inc. is that it guarantees the millions of owners of
electric cars that their privacy “is and will always be enormously important to us.” 

According to a statement on its website, the driving assistance cameras the

company installs in cars are “designed from the ground up to protect your privacy.”
▾

A fewt
of the recordings 
showed Tesla customers
 in unpleasant
 circumstances—a

video of a man approaching a vehicle while entirely naked was described by one ex-
employee.
All Rights Reserved View Non-AMP Version

Many staff received copies of the photographs, which were made into memes
showcasing customers’ dogs and hilarious road signs. In contrast, others showed
car crashes and instances of road rage, including one video showing a Tesla hitting a
child riding a bike.

Tesla claims its “camera recordings remain anonymous and are not linked to you or
your vehicle” in its online “Customer Privacy Notice.” 

However, seven ex-workers revealed that computer software they used at the time
might expose the location of recordings, which might indicate a Tesla owner’s
residence.

True Objectives of Tesla Cameras

Tesla’s cameras are designed to capture driving events while also enabling autopilot
and auto park capabilities by spotting roadside obstacles like street signs and traffic
signals.

Also, the company employs hundreds of people to label Tesla-taken images so that
the cars’ computers can identify typical obstacles. Employees can access these
records as a result.

According to the company’s website, the cameras, known as “Dashcams,” are fixed in
cars and only capture video of their surroundings when the vehicle is turned on. 

But, a former employee told Reuters that some recordings appeared to have been
made while the car was parked and turned off.

“It was a breach of privacy, to be honest. And I always joked that I would never buy a
▾
Tesla after seeing how they treated some of these people,” said one former
employee.
t    
David Choffnes, executive director of the Cybersecurity and Privacy Institute at
Northeastern University in Boston, called sharing of sensitive videos and images by
Tesla employees “morally reprehensible. Any normal human being would be appalled
by this.”

Tesla has been under controversy for its work environment, business procedures,
and product, including claims that the “Full Self-Driving” and autopilot technologies
included in select Tesla models have contributed to accidents and endanger drivers. 

The Justice Department and other agencies are looking into Tesla’s use of the
autopilot feature after the firm recalled hundreds of thousands of vehicles earlier this
year to upgrade the software. 

Tesla has acknowledged that the auto-driving feature still necessitates ongoing
attention from the driver. The “Full Self-Driving” option could get around a California
rule prohibiting automakers from marketing their autopilot technology as totally
autonomous.

Its sentry mode system, an external camera meant to protect from theft or
vandalism, has been the center of disputes claiming it could lead to non-consensual
filming.

Sentry mode was the subject of a data protection agency’s investigation in the
Netherlands in February. Still, it found that the car owner, not the company, was
responsible for recording. It decided not to penalize Tesla after introducing features
to warn people about the recording system.

Tesla’s multi-million-strong global fleet of vehicles generates a large amount of data.

Before collecting data from customers’ automobiles, the firm requests their consent
via the touch screens in their cars. According to Tesla’s website, “You’re Data
Belongs to You.”

Because of issues with its cameras, some government compounds and residential
areas in China have prohibited Teslas. In response, Musk said in a virtual talk at a
Chinese forum in 2021: “If Tesla used cars to spy in China or anywhere, we will get
shut down.”

Thus, as the people interviewed by Reuters no longer work at Tesla, it’s unclear if
these privacy violations still occur.

Struggling to Apply The Security Patch in Your System? – Try All-in-One Patch
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Related Read:
Tesla Sues Former Employee for Stealing Sensitive Data
Agent Tesla’s Successor OriginLogger Keylogger Malware Steals Credentials,
Takes Screenshots
Tesla Model 3, Ubuntu Desktop & Windows 11 Hacked – Pwn2Own Day 2
How Tesla is Redefining the Automotive Industry

Guru Baran
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Guru Baran

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