Western Digital (WD) customers have experienced several weeks of disrupted access to online services following a network security incident that occurred in late March 2023. The company has been working diligently to assess the extent and seriousness of the breach.
Approximately two weeks after detecting the incident, WD was able to restore access to its MyCloud service. However, during the intervening period, many customers had to rely on local access to their files or were left without access altogether.
While the MyCloud service has been restored, other aspects of WD’s cloud operations have continued to be impacted as the company proactively disconnected its systems and services from the public internet. The final online service, the WD online store, is expected to become operational again during the week of May 15.
With the assistance of third-party forensics, WD has determined that an unauthorized party gained access to a copy of the company’s database used for its online store. The compromised data includes hashed and salted passwords as well as partially encrypted credit card numbers.
WD has committed to directly communicating with affected customers, although specific instructions on next steps have not been provided.
In a statement, the company assured customers that its factories have remained operational throughout the incident, with products being shipped to meet customer needs.
Customers who are still utilizing local access are encouraged to take advantage of the restored MyCloud services, which have been available for several weeks, facilitating easier online access to their files.
As the investigation into the network security incident continues, WD will likely implement additional security measures to prevent future breaches and ensure the protection of customer data.
