- In an update to a data breach that happened in March, Western Digital says customer data was stolen.
- The company says customer names, addresses, email addresses, numbers, passwords, and partial credit card numbers, were stolen.
- It says that affected customers have since been notified.
On 26th March, Western Digital says it detected a “network security incident” where hackers tried to gain access to customer information via multiple company systems. In an update to said incident, Western Digital confirms that is was indeed the victim of a data breach were customer data was stolen.
The company issued a press release on the matter, providing greater detail on how the breach occurred, as well as what kinds of customer information was stolen.
“In collaboration with outside forensic experts, we confirmed that an unauthorized party obtained a copy of a Western Digital database used for our online store that contained some personal information of our online store customers,” the company explianed.
“This information included customer names, billing and shipping addresses, email addresses and telephone numbers. In addition, the database contained, in encrypted format, hashed and salted passwords and partial credit card numbers. We will communicate directly with impacted customers,” its release added.
Said communication with customers has happened, according to TechCrunch, which spotted a communication that was sent out by Western Digital. This may not be the end of the incident either, as reports suggest said stolen data has been made available to the highest bidder.
“We are aware that other alleged Western Digital information has been made public. We are investigating the validity of this data and will continue reporting our findings as appropriate,” the company pointed out.
“We’d like to remind consumers to always use caution when downloading applications from non-reputable sources on the Internet,” it continued.
Whether you have been contacted by Western Digital or not regarding this recent breach, it is a worthwhile idea to refresh your passwords and security protocols if you’re a customer.
[Image – Photo by GuerrillaBuzz on Unsplash]
