McDonald's AI Chatbot - “123456 Security Excellence”
Nominee: Paradox.ai and McDonald's Corporation for deploying an AI hiring system with security that would embarrass a child's diary.
Reported by: Andy Greenberg, WIRED Senior Writer - July 9, 2025.
The Innovation
McDonald's embraced the future of hiring with “Olivia,” an AI chatbot designed to streamline the recruitment process. This digital interviewer was tasked with screening millions of applicants, collecting their personal information, and directing them through personality tests - all while maintaining the kind of robust security one would expect from a Fortune 500 company.
The Catastrophe
Security researchers discovered that this cutting-edge AI hiring system was protected by the digital equivalent of a screen door: the default password “123456.” This spectacular security choice exposed the personal information of 64 million job applicants, creating what experts might call “the world's largest collection of disappointed McDonald's hopefuls.”
The Reality
The AI chatbot had already gained notoriety for making job applicants “go insane” with its inability to understand basic questions, proving that even before the data breach, Olivia was overachieving in the incompetence department.
Why They're Nominated
This represents the perfect convergence of AI overconfidence and traditional stupidity: deploying an AI system to handle sensitive data while securing it with a password that wouldn't protect a child's diary. The fact that the AI was already infamous for confusing applicants adds delicious irony to the security failure.