Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Disney is investigating a hack of the entertainment company’s internal Slack channels.
A hacking group called Nullbulge claims to have obtained and leaked over 1 terabyte of data from Disney’s internal Slack channels.
The “hacktivist” group claims to be focused on “protecting the rights of artists and ensuring fair compensation for their work.” It shared screenshots of documents the group had allegedly downloaded, posting to X about traffic and revenue data for Disneyland Paris and what appears to be a new streaming feature that would recommend Disney content based on what viewers have previously watched, with the promise of dumping the entire loot online. In the group’s latest blog post, Nullbulge claims the full extent of the leaked data includes details about unreleased projects, raw images, and computer code.
The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the story, has seen some of the files reportedly obtained and leaked by Nullbulge, including “conversations about maintaining Disney’s corporate website, software development, evaluations of job candidates, emerging leaders programs at ESPN and photos of employees’ dogs, with data dating back to at least 2019.”
“Disney is investigating this matter,” a Disney spokesperson said. Variety Nullbulge has asked for comment.
You can’t blame anyone at Disney, whose companies include film and television studios like Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm, as well as streaming services Disney+ and Hulu, cable networks like ESPN, theme parks and more, for suffering from some vague kind of PTSD.
Ten years ago, Sony Pictures suffered a devastating hack. It’s still considered the largest corporate data breach in U.S. history, and there was more than just photos of employees’ dogs at stake. Years of emails ranging from the innocent to the gossipy to the unflattering were leaked, sending show business into a frenzy. Academy Award-winning producer Amy Pascal stepped down as co-CEO of the studio as a result. Names like Angelina Jolie, Rooney Mara and President Barack Obama were discussed in private messages published to Wikileaks. The studio was also brought to its knees, unable to rely on any form of technology for days after the incident (the accounting department had to process payroll manually).
Jennifer Maas contributed to this report.