One of the best parts about visiting Walt Disney World Resort is all the amazing dining options. There are nearly 400 locations where guests can enjoy a mouthwatering meal. There are options for nearly every budget, from snack stands offering pretzels to quick-service spots selling options like cheeseburgers, pizza, and more. And for those who want to spend a little more, table-service restaurants offer truly unique options, and some even have characters who visit each table!
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Disney not only has options for almost every palate but also serves up dishes for nearly every dietary restriction. It has delicious dining offerings for vegetarians, vegans, and those with allergies to things like peanuts. There are even a ton of gluten-free options for those suffering from Celiac disease. Disney chefs work incredibly hard to make sure everyone feels welcome and can enjoy a great meal.
When guests decide what food they want to enjoy while in the parks, they rely on Disney’s menus for the most up-to-date information on the dishes and their contents. Disney even has separate menu sections that let guests know which dishes are allergy-friendly.
Most guests wouldn’t think for one second that the information on the menu was incorrect. And they certainly couldn’t imagine that the menu had been altered on purpose, and the allergen information had been changed, putting them at risk.
But according to a recent FBI investigation, that is exactly what one former cast member did.
On October 23, Michael Scheuer was arrested and charged with hacking into Disney’s menu creation system and altering many of the menus. He allegedly removed information on dishes that contained peanuts, so guests who read the menu would not think the item contained peanuts. This put thousands of guests at risk of having a dangerous allergic reaction.
Per a report from The Orlando Sentinel:
In addition to altering allergen information, the complaint said he changed prices, added profanity and replaced fonts in the menu software with one that depicted symbols known as wingdings. He also altered QR codes on menus to direct patrons to a website listing names of Israeli companies and those with significant activities there for boycotting purposes.
The complaint said it’s believed the altered menus were isolated before they could be shipped out to restaurants, but Disney was still working to identify all of them. Scheuer’s alleged actions are estimated to have caused at least $150,000 in damages.
Scheuer also locked about 14 Disney employees — including ones involved in his firing and former coworkers — out of their accounts with denial-of-service attacks, the complaint said. The accounts would lock after too many failed login attempts and he used a script to make automated attempts totaling over 100,000.
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The federal complaint said that Disney fired Scheuer on June 13 for “misconduct.” Disney is not named in the complaint, but his lawyer confirmed that Disney fired him. Disney spoke to FBI investigators and told them that the firing was contentious and not “amicable.”
During the time he worked for Disney, Scheuer was responsible for creating and publishing the menus for Disney. That allowed him to learn how to access the software used to create and alter the menus. We do not know why Mr. Scheuer’s access was not taken away after he was fired by Disney this past summer.
Scheuer’s lawyer has said that his client did not injure anyone with the changes he made, since they were quickly discovered. He also blamed his client’s actions on an unnamed disability.
His lawyer, David Haas, released a statement to USA TODAY:
“The criminal allegations acknowledge that no one was injured or harmed by any menu alterations. Mr. Scheuer has a disability that impacted his employment at Disney.”
“[Mr. Scheuer had a] medical event that resulted in him being suspended. Disney then failed to respond to his inquiries about why he was suspended, and his suspension was inexplicably changed to termination,” Haas said.
“Disney refused to provide a response as to why he was fired and made no accommodations for him. He subsequently filed an EEOC complaint. I look forward to vigorously presenting my client’s side of the story.”
Mr. Haas has requested that Mr. Scheuer be released and await his trial at home. In his pre-trial release motion, Mr. Haas said that his client has suffered from mental health issues since he was a child and has been seeing a psychiatrist for three years.
Despite the fact that Mr. Scheuer was fired on June 13, Disney reportedly did not notice he had hacked their menus and changed the information until July 9.
Scheuer has allegedly already admitted to committing the crime and using his personal computer to carry out the attacks. However, he did not expect the FBI to become involved. According to the report, he thought that Disney would simply send out an officer from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office to serve him with a cease and desist letter.
Do you think Mr. Scheuer should spend time in jail for his actions? What should Disney do to prevent something like this from happening in the future? Share your thoughts in the comments!
The post Fired Cast Member Hacked Disney World Menus, Altered Critical Allergy Information appeared first on Inside the Magic.
