{"id":796,"date":"2024-10-10T18:26:33","date_gmt":"2024-10-11T00:26:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wpsites.ucalgary.ca\/jacobson-cpsc\/?p=796"},"modified":"2024-10-10T18:26:37","modified_gmt":"2024-10-11T00:26:37","slug":"the-hacking-of-the-magic-kingdom-disneys-data-breach-network-vulnerabilities-exposure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpsites.ucalgary.ca\/jacobson-cpsc\/2024\/10\/10\/the-hacking-of-the-magic-kingdom-disneys-data-breach-network-vulnerabilities-exposure\/","title":{"rendered":"The Hacking of the Magic Kingdom: Disney\u2019s Data Breach &amp; Network Vulnerabilities Exposure"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>It appears even the Magic Kingdom is vulnerable in this day and age, where even the strongest data security fortresses are being penetrated. A recent high profile cyberattack that revealed glaring weaknesses in Disney\u2019s corporate network put the famous company in the spotlight. An alarming 1.2TB of confidential data was obtained by a hacker gang known as \u201cNullBulge\u201d after they were able to effectively breach Disney\u2019s internal communication lines. [1]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The exact way the breach occurred has not yet been officially determined but according to several reports on the subsequent investigation, several suggestions have been made. Such as;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Insider Threat: According to the hackers themselves, they used cookies and an insider with access to Slack [2].<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Malware Package: It has been suggested that a malicious package that an employee may have downloaded, either via a game mod or a compromised AI tool extension might have also contributed to the success of the breach [3].<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Credential Theft: It is also possible that the attackers also obtained an employee\u2019s password\/credentials which gave them access to Disney\u2019s network [3].<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>However, if we are to assume based off what the attackers themselves said, they used a method of data stealing through a form of cookie hacking. According to [4], Cookie hacking or stealing is basically a sort of cyberattack in which the attacker obtains unauthorized access to a user\u2019s session cookies. This gives the attacker the ability to pretend to be the user and access their private data or online accounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As the person reading this, you can already probably tell Disney suffered some severe setbacks due to this incident as sensitive data such as customer and employee details were potentially exposed [2]. The company\u2019s brand and reputation were also severely affected by the breach, and this even caused them to undergo a thorough review of their security protocols and the tools they utilise for their corporate communications. [5]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After seeing the critical damage this serious concept caused to a mega corporation like Disney, you might be asking yourself \u2018How can I avoid this situation from happening to me?\u2019 Well, there are several ways cookie hacking can be prevented, such as ;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Enhance Browser Security: This can be achieved by keeping your browsers updated so you can get the most recent security patches. It is extremely likely that outdated browsers contain vulnerabilities that hackers could take advantage of in order to obtain cookies. It would also be beneficial to make a conscious effort to regularly erase the cookies and cache in your browser. Doing this will ensure that the threat of cookie theft is reduced. [6]<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Strengthen Account Security: According to [7], it is advised to enable MFA for all your accounts. By doing so, even if a hacker obtains your cookies, they would still need further verification. Using different, complex passwords for all accounts is another important technique to try and implement. If you worry about forgetting your passwords, consider using a password manager [6].<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>There are other healthy techniques such as using a VPN as well as avoid clicking \u201cRemember Me\u201d options on websites which contain sensitive information.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>By implementing these ideas, you are more than prepared to battle against any attackers trying to get ahold of your precious cookies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In conclusion, cybercriminals are always looking for new ways to hack and\/or steal our personal information. It is truly up to us to do better in protecting ourselves, so we don\u2019t end up in a similar situation like what happened to Disney or worse. Keep your crucial information safe and continue to actively educate yourselves on new ways to protect your details!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>REFERENCES<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>[1] A. Drapkin, \u201cData Breaches That Have Happened in 2023 So Far &#8211; Updated List,\u201d\u00a0<em>Tech.co<\/em>, Jan. 30, 2023. https:\/\/tech.co\/news\/data-breaches-updated-list <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>[2] C. Carras, \u201cDisney faces class action lawsuit over employee data breach,\u201d\u00a0<em>Los Angeles Times<\/em>, Oct. 04, 2024. https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/entertainment-arts\/business\/story\/2024-10-04\/disney-data-breach-hack-nullbulge-lawsuit-class-action <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>[3] ThreatLocker, \u201cDisney Security Breach,\u201d\u00a0<em>Threatlocker.com<\/em>, Jul. 30, 2024. https:\/\/www.threatlocker.com\/blog\/disney-security-breach <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>[4] Karishma Sundaram, \u201cWhat is cookie stealing attack and how to prevent it?,\u201d\u00a0<em>Malcare<\/em>, May 02, 2023. https:\/\/www.malcare.com\/blog\/cookie-stealing\/ <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>[5] Refna Tharayil, \u201cDisney to transition away from Slack by 2025 after security breach,\u201d\u00a0<em>Tech Monitor<\/em>, Sep. 20, 2024. https:\/\/www.techmonitor.ai\/technology\/cybersecurity\/hack-sees-disney-back-off-from-slack <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>[6] McAfee, \u201cCookie Theft: How to Keep Cybercriminals Out of Your Accounts | McAfee Blog,\u201d\u00a0<em>McAfee Blog<\/em>, Sep. 13, 2023. https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/internet-security\/cookie-theft-how-to-keep-cybercriminals-out-of-your-accounts\/ <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>[7] M. Basan, \u201cCookie Theft: What Is It &amp; How to Prevent It,\u201d\u00a0<em>eSecurity Planet<\/em>, Aug. 22, 2024. https:\/\/www.esecurityplanet.com\/threats\/cookie-theft\/ <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>[8] \u201c\u203c\ufe0f\u203c\ufe0fDisney streaming service, like Netflix but with everything Disney. | Pixar, Disney, Marvel,\u201d\u00a0<em>Pinterest<\/em>, 2024. https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/pin\/268245721545474562\/ <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It appears even the Magic Kingdom is vulnerable in this day and age, where even the strongest data security fortresses are being penetrated. A recent high profile cyberattack that revealed glaring weaknesses in Disney\u2019s corporate network put the famous company in the spotlight. An alarming 1.2TB of confidential data was obtained by a hacker gang &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wpsites.ucalgary.ca\/jacobson-cpsc\/2024\/10\/10\/the-hacking-of-the-magic-kingdom-disneys-data-breach-network-vulnerabilities-exposure\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;The Hacking of the Magic Kingdom: Disney\u2019s Data Breach &amp; Network Vulnerabilities Exposure&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":672,"featured_media":797,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-796","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/wpsites.ucalgary.ca\/jacobson-cpsc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/119\/2024\/10\/DISNI-1.jpg","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/wpsites.ucalgary.ca\/jacobson-cpsc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/119\/2024\/10\/DISNI-1.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"David David-Aghaiyo","author_link":"https:\/\/wpsites.ucalgary.ca\/jacobson-cpsc\/author\/david-david-aghaiyo\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpsites.ucalgary.ca\/jacobson-cpsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/796","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpsites.ucalgary.ca\/jacobson-cpsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpsites.ucalgary.ca\/jacobson-cpsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpsites.ucalgary.ca\/jacobson-cpsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/672"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpsites.ucalgary.ca\/jacobson-cpsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=796"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wpsites.ucalgary.ca\/jacobson-cpsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/796\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":798,"href":"https:\/\/wpsites.ucalgary.ca\/jacobson-cpsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/796\/revisions\/798"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpsites.ucalgary.ca\/jacobson-cpsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/797"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpsites.ucalgary.ca\/jacobson-cpsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpsites.ucalgary.ca\/jacobson-cpsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpsites.ucalgary.ca\/jacobson-cpsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}