US Data storage service provider and computer drive maker Western Digital recently announced that it has been the victim of a cyberattack. In its statement, the California-based company disclosed that an unauthorised individual gained access to many of its systems after successfully completing a network breach.
The confirmation was given in a dedicated press release which gave details on the event, stating that the network security breach was first identified on Sunday, March 26.
Proactive response to a network breach
A spokesperson for Western Digital stated that the company’s investigation into the incident remains in its early stages but that it is currently coordinating its efforts alongside law enforcement agencies. The company commented:
“Upon discovery of the incident, the Company implemented incident response efforts and initiated an investigation with the assistance of leading outside security and forensic experts.”
According to the evidence it has unearthed to date, Western Digital believes that the intrusion allowed the unauthorised operator to access some of its company data. It is now working to comprehend the full extent of the breach, including both the scope and nature of the data involved.
My Cloud service unavailable
In the days following the cyberattack, the storage provider implemented extra security measures with the aim of safeguarding its systems and ongoing operations. As a result, the company anticipates that these tactics may affect some of the services it provides. Western Digital has stated that the incident has caused and could cause further disruption to areas of its business operations.
While data theft is a common reason for network intrusion, in some cases, attackers simply wish to cause havoc for companies and interrupt their operations. As a result, service providers make highly attractive targets, with incidents often impairing the way they serve their customers. The inability to function effectively not only affects consumers but also the providers themselves, who experience company and system downtime leading to a loss of productivity and profit.
Since the breach was first identified by the firm, multiple users employing Western Digital’s dedicated network-attached storage (NAS) service known as My Cloud have reported an inability to access their personal cloud-hosted media stores. Users attempting to log in to their repositories have been met with a “Service Temporarily Unavailable” 503 error message.
After the early reports of the unfortunate outage, users discovered that the web, proxy, cloud, authentication, push notifications, and email were all unavailable to access. The official service status page for My Cloud noted that the current issue is now impacting a wide range of products, including My Cloud, My Cloud Home Duo, My Cloud Home, My Cloud OS5, SanDisk Ixpand Wireless Charger and SanDisk ibi.
In accordance with data regulations, Western Digital will need to keep data subjects who have been impacted by the network breach informed on any new information uncovered regarding what type of data has been exposed during the recent event. If data subjects are at risk from the incident, it is a common practice to offer advice and free monitoring services to help prevent identity fraud and other issues.
