Ex-Disney Worker Charged with Hacking Menu Database

A former Disney worker was arrested and charged after allegedly hacking into the corporate’s methods and altering its restaurant menus.

Michael Scheuer, an ex-menu manufacturing supervisor at Disney, was charged with violating the Laptop Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) on three totally different events.

He was fired from this place in June, after unspecified misconduct; his dismissal was described as “contentious” and “not thought of to be amicable,” in line with court docket paperwork.

Scheuer allegedly used his work credentials, which had been nonetheless functioning after his termination, to log into the Disney menu creation system contracted by a third-party firm and alter the fonts within the system to Wingdings symbols.

When the menu creator was launched, it will attain for these altered font information, believing them to be appropriate. 

“Because of this alteration, all the menus throughout the database had been unusable as a result of the font modifications propagated all through the database,” learn the grievance.

Scheuer additionally allegedly deleted allergen data from the menus, suggesting some meals had been secure once they weren’t, resulting in probably lethal penalties. The menus had been recognized and remoted by Disney earlier than they may very well be shipped.

The menu modifications brought about the system to go offline for a few weeks and required backup to revive.

Scheuer has additionally been accused of being the foundation reason for a number of distributed denial-of-service assaults towards a number of Disney workers, their data present in a folder on certainly one of Scheuer’s digital machines, labeled “dox.” In accordance with the FBI, the proof discovered within the investigation pointed to Scheuer because the perpetrator. He has been charged on two violations of the CFAA and stays in jail pending a bond listening to. If discovered responsible, he faces as much as 15 years in jail.