Disney has confirmed that it is investigating an apparent leak of internal messages by a hacking group called Nullbulge. The group claims to have gained access to thousands of communications from Disney employees and has downloaded “every file possible”.
According to Nullbulge, the leaked data includes messages about upcoming projects Disney is working on. However, it is not clear how commercially sensitive the information is for the media and theme park giant.
A Disney spokesperson told the BBC in an email, “Disney is investigating this matter.” Nullbulge claims to be “protecting artists’ rights” and targets individuals and organizations that use content generated by artificial intelligence (AI), which it describes as “theft”.
The hackers claim to be based in Russia and say they gained access to Disney’s internal Slack messaging system through an insider. However, when asked for a sample of the stolen data to verify its authenticity, the hackers did not respond.
Nullbulge released a statement claiming that Disney was their target due to its handling of artist contracts, approach to AI, and “pretty blatant disregard for the consumer”. The group claims to have released the data because Disney did not meet their demands to stop using AI.
The leak was first reported in the gaming press and later picked up by the Wall Street Journal, which said some of the leaked material related to advertising campaigns and interview candidates, dating back to 2019.
There has been growing concern among performers, artists, and other creatives that the rapid spread of generative AI will undermine their livelihoods and damage the creative environment. Generative AI is trained on vast bodies of existing material, including texts, images, music, and video, and can produce new work that is hard to distinguish from human-generated material.
Nullbulge describes itself as a “hacktivist group protecting artists’ rights and ensuring fair compensation for their work”. The group claims to be working to develop and implement solutions that protect the rights and livelihoods of artists in the digital age.
The Walt Disney Company’s businesses range from film-making and streaming services to video games and theme parks worldwide. It owns the hugely successful Marvel and Star Wars franchises.
