Dive Brief:
- The majority of Western Digital's impacted systems and services are back online following a March cyberattack where hackers stole a database used in the company’s online store, the company said in a quarterly report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission last week.
- The incident did not have a material impact on earnings for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, however the company has continued to bring network systems back online based on operational priority. Officials said it is still too soon to quantify the impact on revenue moving forward, but the incident is not expected to have a material impact on future financial results, Western Digital said.
- The disk storage provider is continuing a forensic investigation into the attack and is “coordinating with law enforcement authorities.”
Dive Insight:
Western Digital disclosed earlier this month that threat actors accessed customer data, and the company confirmed in the filing that it notified customers and government authorities.
During the quarterly conference call, Western Digital CEO David Goeckeler praised the company’s response to the incident, and said the company has largely recovered from the attack.
Goeckeler confirmed the company still needs to get its online store back up in the next week or so, but said it was “really, really good to see our business continuity plans,” in terms of how well they were implemented.
The company caught a bit of heat on social media after disclosing the incident in early April and customers were unable to access My Cloud Home and related services until the middle of the month.
As previously reported, the ransomware group Alphv/BlackCat took credit for the attack and reportedly threatened to leak company data if not paid an eight-figure ransom.
The company said it has incurred and will continue to incur expenses related to investigation, recovery and remediation from the attack, according to the filing. These include costs for forensics, third-party consulting and services, outside legal advisors and other IT professionals.
Western Digital has cyber insurance coverage, the company said, subject to certain deductibles and limitations that are typical for its size and the industry it operates in.
