Michael Scheuer, a former employee of Walt Disney World, has been sentenced to three years in federal prison following his conviction for tampering with the company's internal allergy menu system.
Scheuer's actions, which included altering critical safety information about food served at the resort, posed a significant risk to guests with severe allergies. His sentencing comes after he pleaded guilty in January to charges of dispatching unauthorized commands to a protected computer and aggravated identity misuse.
According to Breitbart, U.S. District Judge Julie Sneed not only handed down the prison sentence but also ordered Scheuer to forfeit his computer equipment and pay restitution amounting to $687,776.50 to the victims. Despite being terminated from Disney in June 2024, Scheuer managed to retain access to the company's internal menu system through his personal devices, as revealed by federal filings.
During this period, he engaged in a series of malicious activities, including altering menus to display profanity, changing fonts, and, most alarmingly, manipulating allergen information to falsely indicate that certain foods were safe for guests with peanut allergies.
The potential consequences of Scheuer's actions were severe, as authorities noted that guests with serious allergies could have been placed in grave danger. In addition to tampering with allergen information, Scheuer altered the beverage list by replacing the regional origins of wines with locations of recent national tragedies. He also added offensive symbols to the menus and launched a denial-of-service (DOS) cyberattack to obstruct access to the company's internal accounts.
In a particularly unsettling incident, Scheuer visited the home of a Disney Cast Member affected by his actions, where he was captured on a security camera giving a thumbs-up gesture before leaving. In response, Disney arranged for the targeted employee to stay in a hotel and provided security at the location. The escalating nature of Scheuer's cyberattacks prompted the involvement of the FBI's Tampa division, which conducted a raid on his residence and seized his electronic devices.
Special Agent in Charge Matthew Fodor emphasized the importance of collaboration with the private sector in combating cyber threats. "Formidable relationships with the private sector are a pillar of the FBIs Cyber Strategy," Fodor stated. "Through the strength in our partnerships, our Cyber Task Force swiftly identified Mr. Scheuer and disrupted his ability to continue threatening the public." He further affirmed the FBI's commitment to exposing malicious cyber actors and ensuring justice is served.
Despite the seriousness of the allegations, Scheuer's lawyer highlighted to NBC News that "no one was physically harmed." In the wake of these events, Disney has reportedly ceased using the third-party menu management application that Scheuer compromised. The company has transitioned to a manual approval process while awaiting the development of a more secure platform.
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