Key points

• The Disney Slack breach reveals significant security weaknesses in handling sensitive information within collaborative platforms.
• To prevent similar breaches, businesses should adopt continuous monitoring, enforce strict data retention policies, and deploy effective DLP solutions.
• This incident underscores the need for improved security measures across all major digital communication tools to protect against evolving cyber threats.

On July 12th, a hacktivist group named NullBulge claimed on a dark web forum to have breached Disney’s internal Slack messaging channels, leaking thousands of messages.

They asserted access to details about unreleased projects, raw images, computer codes, internal API links, and login information. 

The Wall Street Journal, which reviewed some stolen files, reported that these included conversations on maintaining Disney’s corporate website, software development, job candidate assessments, ESPN leadership programs, and employee pet photos. 

The data breach reportedly dates back to 2019, highlighting a substantial security lapse.

Surge in Slack-Related Cyberattacks

This Disney data leak is only one among five recent Slack-incurred hacks. Uber, EA Games, Grand Theft Auto, Twitter/X, and even Slack itself have all been targeted in a wave of Slack-based cyberattacks, raising concerns about the $26.5 billion company's security measures.

Before we dive into risk mitigation, let’s address the top Slack security risks: 

• Data retention: Slack stores all data indefinitely. The data includes messages, login information and any file uploads.
  
  
• Third-party integration: One of Slack’s highest selling points and highest risks is its third-party integration functionality. Sensitive data stored in Slack can be accessed by a potentially insecure third party.
  
  
• System vulnerabilities: In 2022, it was revealed that Slack had leaked hashed passwords for five years, with 0.5% of Slack users having to change their passwords as a result.

While tools like Slack help businesses operate in a faster and more efficient way, there are clear security vulnerabilities. 

But what steps could Disney have taken to prevent this damaging attack?

Here are three concrete and actionable tips to help businesses prevent massive data breaches.‍

Three Tips to Keep Your Slack Environment Secure

1. Continuous Monitoring

Businesses need to make sure they implement continuous monitoring to flag deviations from normal activities. This helps in detecting potential data exfiltration and unauthorised access to sensitive information early. 

By using advanced behavioural analytics, modern DLP solutions can identify and respond to threats in real-time, ensuring data integrity and security.

2. Data Retention Policies

It’s also key to review and adjust data retention policies to minimise the amount of data stored indefinitely. Storing excessive data increases the risk of exposure during a breach. 

A comprehensive DLP tool can enforce data retention policies automatically, ensuring that sensitive information is retained only as long as necessary and securely deleted when no longer needed.

3. Leveraging DLP Solutions

Any business leveraging digital tools, or handling sensitive data absolutely needs to be utilising DLP solutions to prevent unauthorised transfer of sensitive data outside the corporate network. 

Modern DLP tools, like Metomic, offer comprehensive coverage across various SaaS applications, ensuring that data remains within secure boundaries. These solutions can detect and block unauthorised sharing of sensitive information, maintaining compliance and protecting against data leaks.

Conclusion

The Disney data breach serves as a stark reminder of the importance of having a robust DLP tool in place. 

Businesses must prioritise implementing advanced DLP solutions to safeguard their sensitive data, particularly within collaborative environments like Slack. 

By ensuring continuous monitoring, enforcing strict data retention policies, and leveraging comprehensive DLP solutions, organisations can significantly reduce the risk of data breaches and protect their sensitive information.

For more insights on how Metomic’s modern DLP solution can help secure your data, request a personalised demo with one of our data security specialists.