London Drugs has reopened more than half of its stores, as the Vancouver-based retailer continues to deal with the fallout of a cyberattack that forced all 79 of its locations to close.
The breach that hit London Drugs just over a week ago has left all its pharmacies unable to fill new prescriptions because of “connectivity issues.” In a statement on Monday, the chain announced that 40 stores had reopened and that it expected the remainder to be open by the end of the day on Tuesday.
London Drugs is the latest Canadian retailer to be targeted in a cyberattack. Similar incidents occurred at Sobeys parent company Empire Co. Ltd. in 2022 and bookstore chain Indigo Books & Music Inc. early last year. Such attacks can cost companies tens of millions of dollars in costs to address the problem, and in lost sales while operations are disrupted. In Indigo’s case, sensitive employee data was also compromised.
London Drugs said Monday it has not seen evidence that customer data was affected in its case. London Drugs’ in-store systems are “complex” and involve connections with multiple third-party systems, according to the company’s statement.
“We are only turning on systems after we and our external third-party cybersecurity experts have taken all recommended steps to ensure we have full confidence that the systems being used are safe and secure,” the statement says.
While stores have been closed, pharmacists have still been on-site to address urgent customer requests, according to the company.
Canada Post locations inside its stores are also accessible, the statement says.
Susan Krashinsky Robertson