Western Digital says March cyber attack compromised customers' sensitive personal information

Data storage devices maker Western Digital has confirmed that the sensitive personal information of its customers was compromised in a cyber attack targeting its network in March.

California-based Western Digital, which manufactures and sells data tech products, including data storage devices, cloud storage services, and data center systems, suffered a cyber security incident on March 26 that involved threat actors gaining access to several of its internal systems.

The company later confirmed that the threat actors exfiltrated data from its systems, resulting in system disruption in certain parts of its business operations. While Western Digital did not disclose how the threat actors infiltrated its network or the type of data that was compromised, its statement implies that the incident was caused by ransomware.

The infamous BlackCat ransomware gang has claimed responsibility for the cyber attack on Western Digital and listed the company on its data leak site. According to cyber security researcher Dominic Alvieri, the ransomware group has posted screenshots of data allegedly stolen from the company during the cyber attack.

Western Digital started notifying affected customers on May 5, stating that threat actors were able to steal the sensitive personal data of its users during the attack.

“Based on the investigation, we recently learned that, on or around March 26, 2023, an unauthorised party obtained a copy of a Western Digital database that contained limited personal information of our online store customers,” the company said.

“The information included customer names, billing and shipping addresses, email addresses, and telephone numbers. As a security measure, the relevant database stored, in encrypted format, hashed passwords (which were salted) and partial credit card numbers.”

Western Digital added that it took all its systems offline as a precaution and disconnected them from the internet. The company is presently in the process of restoring its systems and most of its impacted systems and services are now operational. While the online store is inaccessible and customers aren’t able to make purchases on the Western Digital online portal, these services are expected to be restored by May 15.

“Our factories are and have been operational throughout this incident and we are shipping products to meet our customers’ needs. While initially impacted by our proactive measures, as of April 13, 2023, My Cloud service was restored. Account access to Western Digital’s online store also was impacted and is expected to be restored the week of May 15, 2023,” the company added.