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Disney has confirmed it is investigating an apparent leak of internal messages by a hacking group, which claims it is “protecting artists’ rights”.<\/b><\/p>\n
The group, Nullbulge, said it had gained access to thousands of communications from Disney employees and had downloaded “every file possible”.<\/p>\n
It is not clear how commercially sensitive the information is for the media and theme park giant, but it is reported to include messages about upcoming projects the firm is working on. <\/p>\n
“Disney is investigating this matter,\u201d a company spokesperson told the BBC in an email.<\/p>\n
Nullbulge’s website says the group targets anyone it believes is harming the creative industry by using content generated by artificial intelligence (AI), which it describes as “theft”.<\/p>\n
The BBC has made contact with the hackers who claim to be in Russia and say they got into Disney’s internal Slack messaging system through an insider. <\/p>\n
But when asked for a sample of the stolen data to verify its authenticity, the hackers did not respond – meaning the BBC has not been able to independently assess if the huge data trove is genuine.<\/p>\n
“Disney was our target due to how it handles artist contracts, its approach to AI, and its pretty blatant disregard for the consumer,” the hackers claimed. <\/p>\n
They said they released the data because they didn’t expect Disney to meet their demands to stop using AI.<\/p>\n
It is unusual for hackers to claim they are “Russian hacktivists” with an ethical agenda – most cyber criminals, including those in Russia, aim to make money by extorting their victims.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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<\/picture><\/span>Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n