Disney Internal Slack Messages, Unreleased Project Details Leaked: Report

LOS ANGELES (CNS) – Data from Burbank-based Disney’s internal communications system Slack was leaked online and the company was investigating the hack, it was reported Monday.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the data included discussions about ad campaigns, studio technology and interview candidates.

An anonymous hacking group calling itself Nullbulge said in a blog post that it had published data from thousands of the entertainment giant’s Slack channels, including computer code and details about unreleased projects, according to the Journal.

“Disney is investigating this matter,” a Disney spokesperson told the newspaper.

Slack is widely used within large companies for group communications.

The documents viewed by the newspaper included conversations about maintaining Disney’s corporate website, software development, job candidate evaluations and programs for emerging leaders within ESPN, with data dating back to at least 2019.

The entertainment company’s businesses include movies, streaming services Disney+ and Hulu, theme parks, cable television and sports giant ESPN. Disney is home to popular franchises including Marvel and “Star Wars” properties.

In recent weeks, Nullbulge has posted online screenshots of documents it claimed to have obtained from the company’s Slack channels, the Journal reported.

Nullbulge presents itself as a “hacktivist” group that defends the rights of artists and chooses its targets based on a set of social, economic or political values.

A spokesperson for the group told the Journal in an online message that it was targeting Disney “because of the way it handles artist contracts, its approach to AI and its pretty blatant disregard for the consumer.”

Public disclosure of internal company messages, codes and documents can significantly disrupt operations and compromise business objectives.

In 2014, hackers linked to North Korea threw Sony Pictures into chaos, damaging internal systems and publicly releasing emails, including exchanges involving Sony co-chairman Amy Pascal, who resigned a few months after the incident.