Western Digital Got Pwned…. And Customers Cannot Access Their Data In Western Digital’s Cloud
Something that I tell clients all the time is that “the cloud” is just someone else’s computer. Which means it is subject to all the problems that one can have with a computer. Including the fact that it can get pwned by threat actors. A case in point is the fact that hard drive manufacturer Western Digital has been pwned by threat actors three days ago. Though they might have been pwned earlier:
On March 26, 2023, Western Digital identified a network security incident involving Western Digital’s systems. In connection with the ongoing incident, an unauthorized third party gained access to a number of the Company’s systems.
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. This investigation is in its early stages and Western Digital is coordinating with law enforcement authorities.
The Company is implementing proactive measures to secure its business operations including taking systems and services offline and will continue taking additional steps as appropriate. As part of its remediation efforts, Western Digital is actively working to restore impacted infrastructure and services. Based on the investigation to date, the Company believes the unauthorized party obtained certain data from its systems and is working to understand the nature and scope of that data.
While Western Digital is focused on remediating this security incident, it has caused and may continue to cause disruption to parts of the Company’s business operations.
And as a result of that pwnage, a bunch of Western Digital services were shut down. You can see the list here. There’s currently no word on when these services may come back up. But that’s not the worst of it. From what I can tell, thousands of people are without their files and Western Digital’s customer service department isn’t keeping its customers updated about what is happening or the progress.
You can read more about what people are experiencing here. But here’s the bottom line this isn’t a good look for Western Digital.
I personally have recommended their hard drives for years. They’re reliable and they haven’t caused myself or any of my clients issues. Their cloud service on the other hand is something I have never recommended. Instead, I direct people towards a service like Blackblaze which is purpose built for backing up your data off site. And I do that because I have never been 100% convinced that what Western Digital is offering would be safe and robust. I believe that I might have been proven right on that front. That’s not to say that Backblaze couldn’t get pwned as well. I guess what I am saying that I have a lot more trust in Backblaze than I do with Western Digital.
June 14, 2023 at 11:16 am
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