Disney to Stop Using Slack Following Hack that Exposed Company Data

In a major move, the Walt Disney Company announced that it would no longer use Slack for in-house company communication.

This decision comes months after a hack that leaked over a terabyte of company data to the public.

According to a memo obtained by CNBC, Disney Chief Financial Officer Hugh Johnston informed employees and cast members that most of the company’s business units will transition away from Slack usage by the end of Disney’s next fiscal quarter.

Prior to the official announcement, the company had already begun to move towards new internal “streamlined enterprise-wide collaboration tools.”

Meet the CISOs, Join the Virtual Panel to Learn compliance – Join Free

The July data hack exposed sensitive information, including financial data, computer codes, and details about unreleased projects and links to internal APIs.

Threat actors “NullBulge” have claimed responsibility for a massive data breach involving 1.1TB of Disney’s internal Slack chats.

However, Disney assured investors in August that the breach was not expected to have a material impact on the company’s operations or financial performance.

Salesforce, the owner of Slack, has come under scrutiny following the hack. In an interview with Bloomberg at the company’s annual Dreamforce conference, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff emphasized the importance of security measures. “Our security is rock-solid,” Benioff stated. However, he also noted that companies must take responsibility for preventing phishing attacks and social engineering. “We can do our part, but our customers also have to do their part,” he added.

Despite the decision to stop using Slack, Disney will continue to utilize other Salesforce products in various aspects of its business, including its Disney store, Disney guides, sales and service operations, and call centers.

The company has not specified the exact new collaboration tools it will use; several sources indicate that Disney is moving towards “streamlined enterprise-wide collaboration tools” without naming specific platforms.

However, some reports suggest that Disney employees are considering a possible move to Microsoft Teams, among other alternatives

As the company transitions to new collaboration tools, it remains to be seen how this change will impact its operations and employee communication.

Are You From SOC/DFIR Teams? - Try Advanced Malware and Phishing Analysis With ANY.RUN - 14-day free trial