It looks like Mickey Mouse might need a refresher on digital security.
On Thursday morning The Happiest Place on Earth’s Instagram account was briefly taken over by a self-described “super-hacker” who claims to have sought revenge on Disneyland employees who supposedly mocked his “small penis.” The “hacker” possessed all the hallmarks of an unoriginal internet troll.
“WHO’S THE TOUGH GUY NOW JEROME,” the poster, who identified himself as David DO,” wrote according to a screenshot saved by CBS News. The offending posts reportedly began to pop up around 3:50 a.m. Pacific time but appear to have been removed at the time of writing.
In addition to the above posts, which featured the image of a glasses-wearing young man with black hair and dark eyes, CBS Los Angeles notes three additional posts and one Instagram story featuring racial slurs and unhinged tangents. In some of those posts, the hacker reportedly used the n-word, while in others he reportedly claimed to have, “invented COVID and blamed it on Wuhan.” This supposed world-class hacker also claimed he was “working on COVID20.”
Disneyland did not immediately respond to Gizmodo’s request for comment. Gizmodo reached out to several accounts on Instagram and Twitch that appear to match the image and handle of the poster and but we haven’t heard back.
The troll’s posts seemed limited to Disneyland’s Instagram account, which at the time of writing boasts 8.4 million followers. The most recent post on Disneyland’s account at the time involve a performance of The Lion King, dated six days old.
If this was, in fact, a “hack” it will likely bring back bad memories for security workers in the Disney orbit. Back in 2019, the then recently launched Disney+ subscription streaming service fell victim to hackers who reportedly acquired users’ credentials and sold them on the dark web.
It looks like Mickey Mouse might need a refresher on digital security.
On Thursday morning The Happiest Place on Earth’s Instagram account was briefly taken over by a self-described “super-hacker” who claims to have sought revenge on Disneyland employees who supposedly mocked his “small penis.” The “hacker” possessed all the hallmarks of an unoriginal internet troll.
“WHO’S THE TOUGH GUY NOW JEROME,” the poster, who identified himself as David DO,” wrote according to a screenshot saved by CBS News. The offending posts reportedly began to pop up around 3:50 a.m. Pacific time but appear to have been removed at the time of writing.
In addition to the above posts, which featured the image of a glasses-wearing young man with black hair and dark eyes, CBS Los Angeles notes three additional posts and one Instagram story featuring racial slurs and unhinged tangents. In some of those posts, the hacker reportedly used the n-word, while in others he reportedly claimed to have, “invented COVID and blamed it on Wuhan.” This supposed world-class hacker also claimed he was “working on COVID20.”
Disneyland did not immediately respond to Gizmodo’s request for comment. Gizmodo reached out to several accounts on Instagram and Twitch that appear to match the image and handle of the poster and but we haven’t heard back.
The troll’s posts seemed limited to Disneyland’s Instagram account, which at the time of writing boasts 8.4 million followers. The most recent post on Disneyland’s account at the time involve a performance of The Lion King, dated six days old.
If this was, in fact, a “hack” it will likely bring back bad memories for security workers in the Disney orbit. Back in 2019, the then recently launched Disney+ subscription streaming service fell victim to hackers who reportedly acquired users’ credentials and sold them on the dark web.