Western Digital announces the end of security support for legacy external hard drives

a Western DigitalA company known for its external hard drives requires users of WD My Cloud devices to update the My Cloud OS to the latest version so they can continue to receive security updates. If the device is not compatible with the latest version, the company recommends purchasing a newer model.

In an official announcement, the company confirmed that support for versions up to My Cloud OS 3 will end on April 15, 2022. Devices that are not compatible with the latest version, My Cloud OS 5, will lose remote access and will only be able to be used on local, wired computers.

The following external hard drives are not compatible with the new update:

• My Book Live;
• My Book Live Duo;
• WD TV Live Hub;
• My Net N900c.

Compatible devices can be upgraded to My Cloud OS 5 until the end of the expected support date for previous generations. Now, for those with devices that don’t support the firmware version, Western Digital will send 20% off coupons to these users, so they can purchase existing and compatible devices. It is important to note that the campaign is only valid in North America

Finally, Western Digital recommends those who use devices that do not support the latest security updates and will not switch devices, perform device backups, disable remote access functions, and finally leave them disconnected from the Internet.

Examples of attacks

To illustrate the potential attacks that can occur from devices whose security support has already been completed, we mention for example the My Book Live and My Book Live Duo devices, which stopped receiving updates in 2015, and in July of this year were victims of a vulnerability that allowed them to be an unauthorized format (CVE-2021-35941) and another that allowed attackers to use them as vectors for Trojans (CVE-2018-18472).

Both flaws, while serious, are still available for exploitation by malicious proxies, with no patches provided by Western Digital. It is possible that devices that do not support My Cloud OS 5 in the future will have the same ending.

source: Western DigitalAnd PC