Cybersecurity Incident: Automotive Startup IQ.Lvbs Accuses Rival of Model Theft Attempt
IQ.Lvbs, an automotive tech startup, has alleged that its systems were targeted in a cyberattack aimed at stealing its proprietary driving model, NovaSpark, with evidence pointing to a rival company. The incident unfolded following the October 3 announcement of NovaSpark’s private beta in the Comma.ai Discord channel, where the model was introduced due to its reliance on Comma.ai’s self-driving camera hardware.
Between October 7 and 14, IQ.Lvbs reported repeated intrusion attempts to exfiltrate NovaSpark, access user devices, and exploit its sign-in system. The attacks originated from an IP address assigned to Comma.ai Inc., according to the startup’s blog post. On October 8, shortly after the alleged breaches began, IQ.Lvbs’ team and beta testers were banned from the Comma.ai Discord channel.
A representative from IQ.Lvbs, identified only as "Cat," suggested the attacks were motivated by competitive pressure, claiming NovaSpark outperforms Comma.ai’s latest models and threatens its business model. Comma.ai’s CTO, Harald Schäfer (known as Torq_boi on Discord), disputed IQ.Lvbs’ claims in an October 7 message, alleging NovaSpark was derived from Comma.ai’s Rebellious Hope model. IQ.Lvbs denied this, stating Comma.ai lacks access to NovaSpark’s model weights or architecture.
IQ.Lvbs published log data linking the attacks to the username haraschax, which Schäfer uses on GitHub. Neither Comma.ai nor Schäfer responded to requests for comment. The incident occurs as Comma.ai faces a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigation into whether its automation technology contributed to five crashes and three fatalities.
IQ.Lvbs is evaluating legal action and potential involvement of authorities in response to the alleged breach.
comma.ai cybersecurity rating report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/comma.ai
"id": "COM1792535018",
"linkid": "comma.ai",
"type": "Cyber Attack",
"date": "10/2026",
"severity": "100",
"impact": "5",
"explanation": "Attack threatening the organization's existence"{'affected_entities': [{'customers_affected': 'Beta testers',
'industry': 'Automotive Technology',
'name': 'IQ.Lvbs',
'type': 'Startup'}],
'attack_vector': 'Unauthorized access via IP address',
'customer_advisories': 'Beta testers notified via Discord and blog post',
'data_breach': {'data_exfiltration': 'Attempted',
'sensitivity_of_data': 'High (trade secrets, intellectual '
'property)',
'type_of_data_compromised': 'Proprietary driving model, user '
'device access'},
'date_detected': '2023-10-07',
'date_publicly_disclosed': '2023-10-14',
'description': 'IQ.Lvbs, an automotive tech startup, has alleged that its '
'systems were targeted in a cyberattack aimed at stealing its '
'proprietary driving model, *NovaSpark*, with evidence '
'pointing to a rival company, Comma.ai. The incident unfolded '
'following the October 3 announcement of *NovaSpark*’s private '
'beta in the Comma.ai Discord channel. Between October 7 and '
'14, IQ.Lvbs reported repeated intrusion attempts to '
'exfiltrate *NovaSpark*, access user devices, and exploit its '
'sign-in system. The attacks originated from an IP address '
'assigned to Comma.ai Inc. IQ.Lvbs is evaluating legal action '
'and potential involvement of authorities in response to the '
'alleged breach.',
'impact': {'brand_reputation_impact': 'Potential reputational damage due to '
'alleged theft',
'data_compromised': 'Proprietary driving model (*NovaSpark*)',
'legal_liabilities': 'Potential legal action',
'operational_impact': 'Potential disruption to beta testing and '
'development',
'systems_affected': 'Sign-in system, user devices'},
'initial_access_broker': {'high_value_targets': 'Proprietary driving model '
'(*NovaSpark*)'},
'investigation_status': 'Ongoing',
'motivation': 'Competitive pressure, intellectual property theft',
'post_incident_analysis': {'root_causes': 'Alleged competitive espionage, '
'unauthorized access via rival IP '
'address'},
'references': [{'date_accessed': '2023-10-14', 'source': 'IQ.Lvbs Blog Post'},
{'date_accessed': '2023-10-03',
'source': 'Comma.ai Discord Channel'}],
'regulatory_compliance': {'legal_actions': 'Potential legal action under '
'evaluation'},
'response': {'communication_strategy': 'Public blog post, Discord '
'announcements',
'law_enforcement_notified': 'Under evaluation'},
'threat_actor': 'Comma.ai Inc. (alleged)',
'title': 'Automotive Startup IQ.Lvbs Accuses Rival of Model Theft Attempt',
'type': 'Espionage, Data Exfiltration'}