Elon Musk recently revealed the clever method he used to catch a Tesla employee who was leaking confidential information. The leak occurred in 2008, five years after Tesla’s founding. When asked about it on social media in 2022, Musk described the incident as an “interesting story.”
Musk explained that his team sent what appeared to be identical emails to all employees, but each email was uniquely coded with either one or two spaces between sentences, forming a binary signature. This subtle coding allowed them to identify the leaker when the same signature appeared in the leaked information.
The method Musk used falls into a category known as a “canary trap,” which involves creating multiple versions of a sensitive document and distributing them to different suspects. This technique makes it easier to pinpoint the source of a leak. Once the leaker was identified, the person was dismissed from Tesla, with Musk humorously noting that they were “invited to further their career elsewhere.” Despite having the option to pursue legal action, Musk decided against it, citing his focus on survival at the time.
This incident showcases Musk’s resourcefulness in protecting his company’s confidential information and serves as a warning to any current or future employees contemplating similar actions.
