Towfiqu barbhuiya via Unsplash

On May 7, West Pharmaceutical Services revealed it experienced a cyberattack. 

• What happened? A network systems issue was identified, and on May 4, the company determined it to be the result of a cyberattack. The organization enacted incident response protocols, engaged law enforcement, and reached out to third-party cyber-forensic experts. 
• Who is impacted? The company has determined that certain data was exfiltrated, but it is still working to determine the extent of that affected data. Likewise, investigations continue to try and understand the nature and scope of the incident.

Jacob Krell, Senior Director: Secure AI Solutions & Cybersecurity at Suzu Labs, remarks, “West’s SEC filing notes the company is still investigating what data was compromised. That uncertainty is a data inventory problem, and most organizations share it regardless of sector. They can tell you systems are down. Fewer can tell you exactly what data sat in those systems and who it affects. That gap extends every phase of incident response from materiality determination to customer notification. Complete data inventory is what allows an organization to answer the first question every board and every regulator will ask after a breach. What was taken.”

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Jordyn Alger is the managing editor for Security magazine. Alger writes for topics such as physical security and cyber security and publishes online news stories about leaders in the security industry. She is also responsible for multimedia content and social media posts. Alger graduated in 2021 with a BA in English – Specialization in Writing from the University of Michigan. Image courtesy of Alger