Disney employee Matthew Van Andel first discovered something was wrong when a stranger on Discord messaged him with details from his private workplace Slack conversations. As reported in The Wall Street Journal, the hacker had been lurking in his computer for five months after Van Andel downloaded malware-infected AI software from GitHub. The malicious code included a keylogger which let the hacker see every keystroke Van Andel made, giving the attacker access to Van Andel's password manager, and as a result, his entire digital life.
"Once someone has a keylogging Trojan program on their computer, an attacker has nearly unrestricted access," a spokesperson for 1Password told The Wall Street Journal.
The hacker published Van Andel's passwords, financial information, and personal data online. His children's gaming accounts were hijacked, his social media was flooded with offensive posts, and strangers began calling his phone. His credit card numbers were quickly used to rack up unauthorized charges.
The massive data breach also led to a public leak of 44 million internal Disney messages, including customer data, employee details, and revenue numbers.
The hack's aftermath was devastating. Disney fired Van Andel after a forensic analysis allegedly found he'd accessed porn on his work device – a claim he denies. He lost his health insurance and roughly $200,000 in bonuses. His lawyer is now seeking an eight-figure settlement from Disney.
"It's impossible to convey the sense of violation," Van Andel told The Wall Street Journal.
