Former Disney World employee accused of hacking menus to add profanity, alter allergen info
Oct 31, 2024
ORLANDO, Fla. (WFLA) – A former Walt Disney World employee is accused of hacking the theme park's menu system to add profanity and alter allergen information, according to a federal criminal complaint.
Disney was made aware of former employee Michael Scheuer's actions in July, after Scheuer had been terminated for misconduct, the complaint indicates.
The complaint does not reference Disney specifically, but rather a "media and entertainment company" operating in Florida. A lawyer for Scheuer told CNN that Disney was in fact that company.
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Scheuer was previously employed at the company as a "Menu Product Manager," creating and publishing menus using a third-party computer system that was designed exclusively for Disney, the lawsuit indicates. In addition to menu creation, the system "has several other functionalities, such as pricing, menu management, and inventory management," according to the complaint.
The complaint accuses Scheuer of hacking into the system to alter the menus, in some cases adding profane language or inputting incorrect pricing information. But he also "manipulated the allergen information on menus by adding information to some allergen notifications that indicated certain menu items were safe for individuals with peanut allergies, when infact they could be deadly to those with peanut allergies," the lawsuit alleges.
The latter actions "threatened public health and safety" and had "potentially fatal consequences," according to the complaint.
Scheuer is also accused of conducting attacks that disabled employee accounts while he attempted to login over 100,000 times. Scheuer attacked 14 total employee accounts during his hacking scheme, all who he had some type of previous interaction with, and who were upper-level managers for his former place of employment, the lawsuit says.
To carry out the schemes, Scheuer used a specific VPN that hides browsing activity, identity, and location — technology that was discovered on his personal laptops, the complaint alleges.
The estimated cost of damage from Scheuer's actions is more than $150,000.
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After an FBI search of his home in August, Scheuer claimed Disney World was trying to frame him because they were "worried about him and the conditions under which he was fired" while maintaining his innocence, the lawsuit says.
His lawyer also told CNN that Scheuer was terminated from Disney after a panic attack caused by a "mental health disability," and that his client ultimately filed a complaint through the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.