A man pleaded guilty to hacking the computer of a former Disney employee whose information was used to obtain and leak data about the entertainment giant's theme parks and streaming business.

California resident Ryan Mitchell Kramer pleaded guilty Thursday to two counts of illegally breaking into computer systems to access information, each sentenced up to five years in prison.

Last year, hackers leaked a series of data about Disney's operations online, including Disney's business (including sales of Ginny + theme park passes, pricing for company modeling and Disney + streaming revenue) that were leaked online by hackers. Wall Street Journal. It comes from 44 million emails from Disney's Slack Workplace, along with at least 18,800 spreadsheets and 13,000 pdfs, details sensitive financial and strategic information that is not normally disclosed to investors. The scope of the materials used is limited to the channels that can be used by the intrusion of employees.

The plea agreement says workers' computers were compromised when downloading AI software using malware, which allowed Kramer to access online accounts of employees' login credentials stored in their personal and work accounts. Using this information, Kramer downloaded approximately 1.1 TB of confidential data from thousands of Disney Slack channels. He then contacted the worker, who pretended to be a member of a fake Russian hacker-style team called "Nullbulge" and threatened to leak information.

The data, including employees' banking, medical and personal information, and a set of passport numbers for workers in Disney Cruise Company, was eventually leaked.

"We are pleased that this person has been charged and agreed to plead guilty to federal charges," a Disney spokesman said in a statement. "In this case, we remain committed to working closely with law enforcement to ensure that cybercriminals are brought to justice."

Kramer admitted in his plea agreement that two other computers that downloaded the malware were accessible.

The worker was fired after he revealed the hack to Disney's cybersecurity team Magazine Report. The entertainment giant said that forensic analysis of his work computer showed that he had access to pornographic materials on the device.