Disney to End Use of Slack After Hack Exposes Company Data

The Walt Disney Company will stop using Slack for internal communication following a hack that leaked over a terabyte of company data.

In a memo to employees, Disney CFO Hugh Johnston announced plans for most business units to stop using Slack by the end of the next fiscal quarter. This decision follows a significant data breach in July that exposed sensitive information, including financial data, computer codes, and details about unreleased projects.

In light of these concerns, the company is transitioning to new, streamlined collaboration tools to enhance security and improve internal communication.The threat group “NullBulge” has claimed responsibility for a major data breach that compromised 1.1TB of Disney’s internal Slack chats.

Disney reassured investors in August that the data breach wouldn’t significantly affect its operations or finances.

Salesforce, the parent company of Slack, has faced scrutiny since the hack. During an interview at Salesforce’s Dreamforce conference, CEO Marc Benioff stressed the importance of security, stating, “Our security is rock-solid.” However, he emphasized that companies also need to take steps to prevent phishing and social engineering attacks.

While Disney will stop using Slack, it plans to keep using other Salesforce products for its Disney store, sales operations, and call centers. The company hasn’t revealed the specific new collaboration tools it will adopt, but sources suggest they are looking for streamlined enterprise-wide options.

Some reports indicate that Disney employees may switch to Microsoft Teams or other alternatives. As the company shifts to new tools, the impact on operations and communication remains uncertain.