Malware hits Western Digital's My Book Live devices; wipes all data: Report

After malware was found to have wiped all data from some users' devices, Western Digital is advising customers who use its My Book Live and My Book Live Duo products to disconnect them from Internet

After malware was found to have wiped all data from some users' devices, storage solutions major Western Digital (WD) is advising customers who use its My Book Live and My Book Live Duo products to disconnect them from the Internet.

In a statement on its community forum, WD said, some My Book Live devices had been compromised by malicious software, which led to a factory reset that erased the data, The Straits Times reported.

"We understand that our customers' data is very important. At this time, we recommend you to disconnect your My Book Live from the Internet to protect your data on the device," the company said.

"We are actively investigating and we will provide updates to this thread when they are available," it added.

On Thursday, a number of users started threads on the WD community forum stating they were unable to access their data.

One such thread received over 150 replies within a day after it was posted, including from users who said they had lost years worth of photos, documents and data.

Some posted user logs showing that their devices had been restored to factory settings, while others said the passwords they used to access the drive were no longer working.

My Book Live, which was launched in 2010, is a personal network-attached storage device that allows users to access their files from different devices connected to the same network, or remotely over the Internet.

The product received its last firmware update in 2015, meaning it is no longer supported by the manufacturer. It is also no longer available on WD's online store.

In a separate statement, WD said there was no indication of a breach or compromise of its cloud services or systems, the report said.

--IANS

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