According to Indigo Books & Music Inc., a ransomware attack compromised the data of current and former employees at Canada’s largest bookstore chain.
In a statement posted on its website, Indigo said there was no indication that customer personal information, such as credit card numbers, was accessed in the February 8 breach, but that “some employee data was accessed. ‘He said.
The Toronto-based retailer said it had struck a deal with Canadian consumer research agency TransUnion to provide two years of credit monitoring and identity theft protection free of charge to its employees.
After Indigo shut down its website and app last week in what it called a “cyberattack,” customers are unable to purchase online except for “selected books.”
When the incident began more than two weeks ago, Indigo could only process in-store purchases in cash, but some services have since been restored, including in-store credit and debit payments, exchanges and returns. . .
The website of Indigo, Canada’s largest bookstore chain, has been down for almost a week due to a cybersecurity issue. Cyberattacks against businesses are becoming more common, and experts say security systems need to be strengthened to avoid being targeted.
The company has engaged third-party experts to investigate and resolve the issue, but did not publicly acknowledge the incident as a ransomware attack affecting its employees until this week.
“We are notifying both current and former employees that their information may have been affected,” the statement said.
Canadian retailers have seen an increasing number of cyberattacks in recent months, with data breaches becoming a familiar feature of the corporate and public sector landscape.
Sobey’s parent company, Empire Co. Ltd., suffered a security breach late last year.
The November incident prevented customers from filling prescriptions at the chain’s pharmacy for four days, while other in-store features such as self-checkout machines, gift card redemption and loyalty point redemption were offline for about a week. became.
Empire later said the attack was expected to cost $25 million after insurance recoveries.
Ontario’s Liquor Control Board experienced a ‘malicious’ cybersecurity incident affecting online sales in January, and a ransomware attack disrupted operations at a hospital for sick children in Toronto in December. I confirmed the
