Western Digital falls on report that hackers are seeking ransom

WESTERN Digital shares fell as much as 4.5 per cent following a report that hackers are trying to extort the company after stealing about 10 terabytes of data, including customer information.

The stock dropped as low as US$36.30 after TechCrunch reported that the hackers were seeking a ransom of at least “eight figures” — US$10 million and up — in exchange for not publishing the data.

Western Digital disclosed a security breach earlier this month, but didn’t elaborate on the circumstances. The company said at the time that it detected a network incident that happened on Mar 26. Its website remained down until earlier this week.

“This investigation is in its early stages and Western Digital is coordinating with law enforcement authorities,” Western Digital said in the Apr 3 statement.

The San Jose, California-based company, one of the largest makers of computer storage drives, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday (Apr 13).

Hackers shared phone numbers of executives and other information they’d illegally accessed as part of the scheme to negotiate a ransom, TechCrunch reported. The unidentified hacker group said it hadn’t received a response from the company, according to the story.

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Western Digital shares are down 24 per cent over the past 12 months. BLOOMBERG