Disgraced Ex-Disney Employee Fesses Up To Dangerous Allergy Menu Hack

Michael Scheuer and his legal team have entered a guilty plea for hacking Disney World's restaurant menu-creation software, altering allergen information, inserting swastikas, and changing wine regions to mass shooting locations. Among other things, the outcome of this federal criminal case will require Scheuer to pay Disney for damages as well as a fine to the government. Prior to the hack, Scheuer was fired from Disney upon his return from paternity leave, so could this be a case of disgruntled employee acting inappropriately?

In a federal criminal case between Disney and ex-employee Michael Scheuer, the defendant was accused for hacking into the menu-creation software for Disney restaurants, changing content like removing allergen warnings for certain food items, which while not as large scale, could've led to lethal consequences. Scheuer also added a swastika to a menu, changed fonts (causing some pages to be blank), and switched out geographic regions of listed wines with locations of recent mass shootings.

The filing states that changes to the allergen information included peanuts, tree nuts, shellfish, and milk. Scheuer also made "notations to menu items indicating they were safe for people with specific allergies, which change could have had fatal consequences depending on the type and severity of a customer’s allergy," and even though "some number" of the menus were ever printed, thankfully they were caught and isolated before being shipping to Disney restaurants. 

As a result of the hack, Disney states that it has moved to a manual menu approval process until a new system is developed in place of the hacked menu-creation app. For context, Scheuer previously held a position as the menu production manager until he was fired (for undisclosed reasons) from the company "upon his return from paternity leave" in June last year. 

The filing reports that beginning in August 2024, Scheuer launched a cyberattack meant to continuously lock 14 Disney employees out of their work accounts. The menu alterations subsequently occurred over a three-month period, culminating in a raid and arrest by federal agents at Scheuer's residence. It seems like only yesterday that Disney had to deal with disgruntlement-fueled hacks.

Ultimately, Scheuer has pleaded guilty to the charges and will need to pay Disney restitution money and up to $250,000 in fines, with potential for prison time. Scheuer's lawyer assures that the defendant accepts responsibility for his conducts, although "he has mental health issues that were exacerbated when Disney fired him upon his return from paternity leave."