McDonald’s AI hiring chatbot exposed the personal data of millions of job applicants due to laughably weak security measures, including a password set to “123456.” Security researchers Ian Carroll and Sam Curry discovered they could access up to 64 million applicant records through the McHire platform built by Paradox.ai, a software company that creates AI-powered hiring tools, potentially exposing names, email addresses, and phone numbers of people who applied for McDonald’s jobs over several years.
What you should know: The security breach occurred through basic vulnerabilities that should never exist in enterprise systems handling sensitive data.
- Researchers gained administrator access to Paradox.ai’s backend systems by simply guessing common login credentials, with “123456” as both username and password working on their second attempt.
- The compromised account had no multifactor authentication and “had not been logged into since 2019 and frankly, should have been decommissioned,” according to Paradox.ai.
- Once inside, researchers could access any applicant’s chat logs and contact information by manipulating ID numbers in the system.
The scope of exposure: The vulnerable database contained records spanning years of McDonald’s job applications through the AI-powered McHire system.
- Researchers identified over 64 million applicant ID numbers, though Paradox.ai says only a fraction contained personal information.
- The exposed data included applicants’ names, email addresses, phone numbers, and complete chat histories with the Olivia AI chatbot.
- Two applicants contacted by WIRED confirmed they had applied for McDonald’s jobs on the dates specified in their exposed records.
Why this matters: The breach creates significant risks for vulnerable job seekers who could be targeted by sophisticated phishing scams.
- Fraudsters could impersonate McDonald’s recruiters and request financial information for fake direct deposit setups, exploiting applicants’ eagerness for employment.
- “If you wanted to do some sort of payroll scam, this is a good approach,” Curry explained, noting the heightened vulnerability of people actively seeking employment.
- The exposure also carries potential embarrassment for applicants whose job-seeking attempts at minimum-wage positions were made visible.
How the discovery happened: Carroll initially investigated the system after seeing Reddit complaints about the AI chatbot’s poor performance with job applicants.
- “I just thought it was pretty uniquely dystopian compared to a normal hiring process, right? And that’s what made me want to look into it more,” Carroll said.
- After testing unsuccessfully for AI prompt injection vulnerabilities, the researchers noticed a Paradox.ai staff login link and decided to try common credentials.
- “So I started applying for a job, and then after 30 minutes, we had full access to virtually every application that’s ever been made to McDonald’s going back years,” Carroll explained.
What they’re saying: Both companies acknowledged the severity of the breach and took responsibility for the failures.
- “We do not take this matter lightly, even though it was resolved swiftly and effectively,” said Stephanie King, Paradox.ai’s chief legal officer. “We own this.”
- McDonald’s expressed disappointment with their vendor: “We’re disappointed by this unacceptable vulnerability from a third-party provider, Paradox.ai.”
- The companies confirmed that Paradox.ai verified the compromised account “was not accessed by any third party” other than the security researchers.
The bigger picture: This incident highlights the risks of deploying AI systems without proper security foundations, especially when handling sensitive personal data.
- Paradox.ai announced it’s implementing a bug bounty program to better identify security vulnerabilities in the future.
- The breach was resolved on the same day it was reported to McDonald’s, according to the company’s statement.
- Carroll noted his respect for McDonald’s workers despite the security issues: “I have nothing but respect for McDonald’s workers. I go to McDonald’s all the time.”
McDonald’s AI Hiring Bot Exposed Millions of Applicants’ Data to Hackers Who Tried the Password ‘123456’