“From Dream Job to Ruin: How One Disney Worker’s AI Experiment Cost Him $200,000 in Bonuses”
Share icon Matthew Van Andel was fired from Disney after the free AI tool he downloaded gave hackers access to his personal information
Image credits: GoFundMe
The message, sent via Discord, read, “I have gained access to certain sensitive information related to your personal and professional life.”
Van Andel grew worried when he realized the stranger knew details about his life he hadn’t shared with anyone else outside of work, including messages sent privately on the workplace communication tool Slack about his lunch.
When he went to the police and cut off their access, 44 million Disney messages were made public.
These contained information about the company’s theme park and streaming revenue, private customer information, and employee passport numbers.
Image credits: Nicole Van Andel
The criminal group also stole his credit card data and shared his social security number as well as login information to access his security cameras at home.
Van Andel reportedly lost control of his social media accounts, which became filled with obscene language.
The hacker told the victim that he was part of NullBulge, a Russian collective of “hacktivists” that supports the rights of artists and opposes the use of artificial intelligence. However, some suspect he was an American working alone.
Van Andel downloaded the software on the code-sharing site GitHub
Image credits: Busran/Adobe Stock (Not the actual photo)
The hackers alleged online that they had received help from a man “on the inside.”
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