Disney World's peanut allergy warnings allegedly altered in menu hack by disgruntled ex-employee

A former Disney employee, Michael Scheuer, has been accused of hacking into a proprietary menu system for Disney World's restaurants, where he allegedly altered menu information to misrepresent allergy information, particularly for peanut allergies. The federal complaint further states that Scheuer accessed Disney’s third-party “Menu Creator” software, making changes that posed potential health risks by labeling peanut-containing items as safe for people with allergies. Thankfully, Disney detected the altered menus before they were distributed to restaurants; otherwise the consequences could've been dire down the line.

Scheuer allegedly retained access to Disney’s systems using old login credentials, even after his employment ended. Following a menu font alteration to “Wingdings,” Disney reset login credentials. The complaint alleges that Scheuer then accessed Company B’s FTP servers to manipulate files further - adding profanity, modifying prices, and redirecting QR codes to unrelated sites.

The intrusions disrupted Disney’s menu operations, forcing them offline and necessitating manual processes for one to two weeks. During this period, Disney restored the system from backups.

The complaint also accuses Scheuer of attempting to lock Disney employees out of their accounts through mass login attempts, and of compiling personal information about specific employees. Disney is not directly named in the complaint, but 404 Media confirmed Disney’s involvement through cross-referencing and a statement from Scheuer’s attorney. Neither Disney nor the Department of Justice have provided additional comments at the time of writing.