Network Attached Storage (NAS) devices are external hard drives with network connectivity. They are essentially private cloud drives that you can set up at home to access your files remotely. They’re handy, but if you’re using a Western Digital My Book Live and My Book Live DUO NAS drive, disconnect it from your wireless network immediately to keep your data safe from hackers.
According to popular user reports, outsiders can remotely access the NAS drives using the WD My Book Live app. Once inside, the hacker steals the stored files and then does a factory reset that wipes out all of the stored data. Data cannot be recovered after a system reset, making this a particularly devastating attack.
Ordinarily, users would expect a security patch to fix such a serious problem. Unfortunately, Western Digital stopped supporting the affected NAS drives in 2015 and the devices have not received a new firmware update since then. That explains why the vulnerability existed in the first place, but it also means that a patch may never come. According to an official Declaration on the Western Digital website:
Western Digital has discovered that some My Book Live devices have been compromised by malicious software. In some cases, this tradeoff has resulted in a factory reset that appears to erase all data on the device.
However, Western Digital has not confirmed whether a patch will fix the problem, saying:
The My Book Live device received its last firmware update in 2015. We know that our customers’ data is very important. At this point, we recommend that you disconnect your My Book Live from the Internet to protect your data on the device.
G / O Media can receive a commission
Users should check their drives immediately. If you see “Invalid Password” on the dashboard login screen (and you’ve confirmed that you are using the correct login information), someone may have erased the drive. If you can still log in and your data is still available, you should remove your drive from the network to prevent the attack. While you cannot access the drive remotely, you can connect it directly to your PC or laptop using an Ethernet cable.
- Turn off your computer’s WiFi connection.
- Connect the computer and the NAS drive with an Ethernet cable.
- Restart your computer.
- The NAS drive light should turn on and appear on your PC’s storage devices.
- If you have any problems, please contact Western Digital support page for troubleshooting Help.
[TweakTown]
