Fans are reflected in Disney+ logo during the Walt Disney D23 Expo in Anaheim, California in September 2022
AFP

An activist hacking group claimed that it was able to breach the internal messaging channels of The Disney Company, and leaked thousands of messages, which included raw images, a number of logins, and even unreleased projects.

The group, called Nullbulge, claimed responsibility for the attack. The hackers claim that they leaked approximately 1.2 terabytes of information, gained from the Slack program used by Disney.

According to CNN, the group sent an email to the news outfit on Monday, saying that it was able to gain access to the mentioned files through "a man with Slack access who had cookies." The email also claimed that they were based out of Russia.

"The user was aware we had them, he tried to kick us out once but let us walk right back in before the second time," the email claimed.

Despite this, CNN said that it was not able to verify the group's claims. On Monday, Disney released a statement and said that it was investigating the matter.

The hacking group stated in an email that its goal was to protect the rights of artists and their compensation. It said Disney was targeted because of the way that it handles artists' contracts, its approach to artificial intelligence, and the company's "blatant disregard for the consumer," The Verge reported.

The group's actions show that it has openly targeted Disney. For instance, it posted on X what was supposed to be revenue data, including visitor and booking for Disneyland Paris.

During the Screen Actors Guild and the Writers Guild of America, AI was among the points that were difficult to reach agreement. Actors feared that CGI could replace them, while writers were afraid that ChatGPT would be able to write scripts instead of them.

"If we said 'Hello Disney, we have all your slack data' they would instantly lock down and try to take us out. In a duel, you better fire first," as what was found in the statement.

According to the hackers, making demands from the company would be futile, so they leaked the data instead.

AI