ORLANDO — Former employee hacked into Walt’s servers Disney World after being fired for the purpose of manipulating computer menus by changing the prices, adding rude words and altering notifications to mislabel some articles as insurance for allergy sufferers, claims a federal criminal complaint.
The former employee was arrested last week following an investigation by the FBI. His court-appointed attorney, David Haas, said Thursday that his client intended to plead not guilty once an indictment had been filed. In the meantime, he will remain in jail at least until a bail hearing is held next week.
In a motion requesting his release, Haas said his client had struggled with mental health issues since childhood and was currently seeing a psychiatrist.
“He is not receiving any mental health counseling or treatment in jail,” the attorney said in the motion.
Disney said Thursday it would not comment on the case. The company detected the changes before the menus were sent to the restaurants, including the allergen information, which could have had “potentially fatal consequences depending on the severity of customers’ allergies,” according to the complaint.
Disney was forced to take its menu creation program offline for more than a week, and the company claims the attacks cost it at least $150,000.
An internal Disney investigation concluded that the worker who was fired last June from his position responsible for menu production was a possible suspect. The termination was “contentious and not considered amicable,” and his job responsibilities included creating and publishing menus for the company’s entire restaurant portfolio, according to the criminal complaint.
Only workers in his position or in similar positions “would have the access and knowledge to carry out the attacks,” the complaint states.
The former Disney worker denied any wrongdoing when FBI agents raided his home last month.
FUENTE: With information from AP
