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When an unknown individual shot and threw molotov cocktails at a number of Teslas at one of the electric car maker’s centers in Las Vegas this March, investigators used a number of surveillance techniques to locate and eventually charge a suspect with domestic terrorism.
While establishing the suspect getaway vehicle’s direction of travel using surveillance cameras and license plate readers, law enforcement acquired records from telecom companies running cell towers along the vehicle’s route to and from the Tesla garage. Typically used to get information on all mobile phones connecting to towers in the vicinity of a crime, these “tower dumps” have long been controversial.
In this case, cops used the tower dumps to track not only the suspect’s phone but also the vehicle. Detectives asked Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T to send information on all connecting devices to six relevant towers. They saw a Verizon BlueLink onboard Wi-Fi system had pinged two of the towers. According to a complaint against the eventual suspect – 36-year-old Paul Hyon Kim – investigators believe the BlueLink was inside his Hyundai.
It’s a rare case of a vehicle being tracked via a tower dump, just a matter of weeks after one judge in Mississippi declared that the surveillance technique was unconstitutional. That ruling has since been appealed by the Justice Department, according to Court Watch, an independent publication focused on finding stories in federal court records.
The investigation into Kim shows how the Trump administration’s Justice Department is continuing to use such surveillance to track down those venting their fury at Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk. Since Musk undertook a massive restructuring of America’s civil service via the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), activists and vandals launched a wave of attacks against his electric car company.
“The Department of Justice has been clear: anyone who participates in the wave of domestic terrorism targeting Tesla properties will suffer severe legal consequences,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi, announcing the charges against Kim last week. “We will continue to find, arrest, and prosecute these attackers until the lesson is learned.”
Anti-Musk sentiment is causing not only damage to physical cars but also Tesla’s business as a whole. As Forbes’ Alan Ohnsman reported last week, Tesla rivals are making significant gains in the marketplace, especially China’s BYD.
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THE BIG STORY:
DOGE Gets Access To Sensitive Government Payroll System
Members of Musk’s DOGE gained access over the weekend to a payroll system housed in the Interior Department that processes salaries for about 276,000 federal employees across various agencies, according to the New York Times.
The DOGE move overruled IT officials who had raised concerns about access to such sensitive information. The officials were later put on administrative leave and under investigation.
Stories You Have To Read Today
After Defense Department chief Pete Hegseth shared information about strikes on Houthis in Yemen over encrypted messaging app Signal, downloads of the app have soared across the world. That includes a big jump in installs in Yemen.
Staff over at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency told Forbes they were flabbergasted at the leaks, with one echoing some calls from Democratic lawmakers that there should be a criminal inquiry into the sharing of classified information outside of official government channels.
The Justice Department announced the seizure of approximately $201,400 in cryptocurrency accounts linked to Hamas. The DOJ said it had identified crypto addresses that were used to launder more than $1.5 million in virtual currency since October 2024 for the benefit of Hamas.
Winner of the Week
Microsoft is rolling out 11 cybersecurity-focused AI agents for Copilot. Each will focus on a different task. For instance, one will identify potential phishing emails. Another can craft messages to authorities in the event of a breach.
Loser of the Week
Oracle has reportedly suffered two breaches in quick succession: one in its healthcare division, the other in its cloud unit. Larry Ellison’s tech giant has denied the latter, though further reports alleged the information leaked online belongs to Oracle customers. The healthcare-related breach, which Oracle had flagged to customers in March, is now being investigated by the FBI, according to Bloomberg.
