News Insider Threat
Toyota Accuses Former IT Contractor Of Data Breach
Third-party IT contractor breached Toyota's systems, compromised sensitive data, automaker says
Toyota has accused a former IT contractor of stealing sensitive information from its systems.
In a complaint filed at the U.S. District Court in Kentucky, the North American branch of Toyota Motor Co. says that Ibrahimshah Shahulhameed illegally accessed one of its websites after being dismissed from his contracting job on Aug. 23.
More Security Insights
White Papers
- IDC Analyst Connection: Using Blade Systems to Cut Costs and Sharpen Efficiencies
- Cloud-based data backup: A buyer's guide - How to choose a third-party provider for development, management of your data backup solution
Reports
More >>Webcasts
- The Untapped Potential of Mobile Apps for Commercial Customers
- Agile for Safety Critical Systems: Project Management Practices
According toindustry reports, within hours of his dismissal, Shahulhameed is accused of logging into the toyotasupplier.com website without authorization and spending hours downloading proprietary plans for parts, designs, and pricing.
Toyota uses the website to exchange highly sensitive information with its suppliers about current and future products.
If the compromised data was made public, then "it would be highly damaging to Toyota, and its suppliers, causing immediate and irreparable damage," the automaker said.
According to a report in Automotive News, Shahulhameed also has been accused of sabotaging software on Toyota's systems, causing computers to crash.
A restraining order has been placed on Shahulhameed, who is an Indian citizen, that prevents him from leaving the United States or disseminating the trade secrets.
"What isn't clear, at this time, is whether Toyota is claiming that Shahulhameed accessed their computer systems by exploiting a vulnerability, or whether they had simply not reset staff passwords that he may have had access to in his position as an IT contractor with the firm," said experts at security firm Sophos in their blogged analysis of the incident.
Have a comment on this story? Please click "Add a Comment" below. If you'd like to contact Dark Reading's editors directly, send us a message.
Related Reading
Dark Reading Discussions
Start the Discussion
 |
To upload an avatar photo, first complete your Disqus profile. | View the list of supported HTML tags you can use to style comments. | Please read our commenting policy. |
