Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, devised a plan to apprehend the individual accountable and ensure they face the appropriate repercussions.
Elon Musk instructed his staff to avoid challenging him as he devised a clever method to apprehend a Tesla employee who was divulging classified details.
Musk frequently reveals information about his ongoing projects through X, one of his companies. This includes ventures like Tesla, SpaceX, and Neuralink.
The entrepreneur frequently shares updates and achievements with the public, but there are certain undisclosed details he wishes to keep private. Unfortunately, a former Tesla employee was hindering his efforts to maintain confidentiality.
In 2008, confidential information was leaked, five years after Tesla was established.
In 2022, a curious user on X asked Musk for details about a leak. The user tagged the founder and asked: “Elon, back in 2008, how did you find the employee who leaked Tesla's confidential data to the news outlet?”
Musk called it an ‘intriguing tale' and then shared the clever technique his team used to identify the person behind the information leak.
The leaker was sharing secrets with a news outlet. (Apu Gomes/Getty Images)
He described how they sent emails that looked the same to everyone, but were secretly coded with either one or two spaces between sentences to create a binary signature that revealed the leaker.
Musk successfully traced the person responsible by identifying the identical signature in the leaked information.
One person asked Musk about the genius behind the plot, while X users praised it as ‘smart'.
Musk claimed that the method was his own creation, even though it falls under the category of a ‘canary trap'.
If you're not aware, this technique includes making several copies of a confidential file and distributing them to various suspects. This helps in identifying the leaked version more easily.
Elon Musk said he came up with the idea himself. (X/@elonmusk)
After solving the case, the individual who leaked the confidential information was understandably fired from Tesla.
Musk extended an invitation for them to advance their career elsewhere.
However, Musk chose not to pursue legal action against the individual responsible.
Musk stated that he was extremely occupied with staying afloat during that period.
Musk's ‘survival' seems more secure now, and hopefully, his success in catching the leaker last time will discourage any future attempts by his employees to outsmart him.
Featured Image Credit: Chesnot/Getty Images / Apu Gomes/Getty Images
