Disney Faces Data Breach: Club Penguin Fans Suspected as Perpetrators
Disney, the multinational entertainment company, has fallen victim to a significant data breach. The breach was recently reported by BleepingComputer, revealing that 2.5GB of internal company data was stolen. To make matters worse, a portion of the stolen data was publicly dumped on the controversial image board site, 4Chan. While the motive behind the attack remains unclear, it appears that fans of the now-defunct online game Club Penguin may be responsible.
Club Penguin, a massively popular online game, was acquired by Disney in 2007 for a staggering $350 million in cash. At its peak, Club Penguin boasted around 200 million users and was considered the largest online kids’ community of its time. However, as interest in the game waned over the years, Disney shifted its focus to a new 3-D version called Club Penguin Island. In 2017, the original Club Penguin was shut down, only to have its successor meet the same fate in 2018.
Despite the official shutdowns, dedicated fans of Club Penguin have kept the game alive through private servers, where they can play unofficial, emulated versions of the game. However, Disney has taken a firm stance against these creators and has actively shut down unauthorized servers. In fact, just last year, Disney had a popular server called Club Penguin Rewritten shut down and even made three arrests related to the operation of the unofficial game.
Now, it appears that some Club Penguin fans are taking revenge on Disney through this data breach. The dumped data on 4Chan primarily consists of old internal Club Penguin information, including emails, documents, and designs. However, this Club Penguin-specific data only accounts for a fraction of the total stolen data.
The breach itself occurred through unauthorized access to Disney’s Confluence server, where the company stores internal business-related data. Hackers were able to exploit leaked credentials to gain entry. The larger breach comprises more recent material, some of which dates back to this year. Among the stolen data are two internal developer tools called Helios and Communicore. Helios enables Disney employees to create experiences based on sensors in Disney’s theme parks, while Communicore is a messaging library for distributed applications. Additionally, the stolen documents contain information about various Disney projects and links to internal company websites used by Disney developers.
As of now, Disney has not issued any official statements regarding the data breach. The company is likely working diligently to investigate the incident and assess the extent of the damage. As cyberattacks become increasingly prevalent, this breach serves as a reminder of the importance of robust cybersecurity measures for all organizations, regardless of their size or industry. Safeguarding sensitive data and protecting user privacy should always be top priorities in today’s digital landscape.
