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London Drugs closes stores until further notice due to cyberattack
- dojitza1 2y agoReading between the lines it seems like it's some kind of ransomware.
- sharpshadow 2y agoThe attack was recognised on Sunday afternoon, so they chose to attack during the end of the weekend. If all stores are incapable to service and apparently no customer data has been compromised, it could be ransomware.
- rob74 2y ago> Retail and pharmacy chain London Drugs [...] has shuttered its stores across Western Canada until further notice. > The chain says pharmacists would still support customers with urgent pharmacy needs [...] Er... which one is it now? If they support customers with urgent pharmacy needs, the stores can't be completely shuttered? Also, there is no information about any of this (including which stores are open and under what conditions) on their website - but maybe they also no longer control that website?
- viraptor 2y ago"support" doesn't necessarily mean they sell anything. I don't know about the system in Canada, but around here the pharmacy can hold your prescription repeats for example or other important information that you'd have to get before you can pick up your drugs from a different location. Or you may have local vaccination scheduled. Or other things that pharmacies do.
- throwawayk7h 2y agoAt the location I visited yesterday, somebody let me in because I wanted to go to the pharmacy, but they turned other people away. They gave me a few days' supply without charging me.
- InCityDreams 2y agoI have a choice of three very-local pharmacies. I stuck with one, and now they know me (10+yrs) they'll give me a prescription, and get the note from the doc (electronically) shortly, after holidays etc. I'm just honest with the doc - and he's 400m from the pharm, so no shenanigans there.
- prmoustache 2y ago> Er... which one is it now? If they support customers with urgent pharmacy needs, the stores can't be completely shuttered? Customers can still go to another pharmacy.
- kotaKat 2y agoThe last I remember LD was a Toshiba/IBM OS 4690 shop for their point of sale system. I don't think there would be compromise there, it's robust (enough) that I haven't seen (many) exploits on that platform. The rest of the company network though (other servers, endpoints) could well be screwed as well as anything trying to hook to it.
- Alifatisk 2y agoThis is when cash comes in handy, but we're also transitioning into a cashless society so that option will slowly be gone. Do stores really need to be connected to the internet all the time?
- viraptor 2y agoFor pharmacies? Yeah - stock, ordering, prescription validation, (country dependent) drug seekers checks, vaccination records, ... It's not just payments.
- sofixa 2y ago> This is when cash comes in handy, but we're also transitioning into a cashless society so that option will slowly be gone. No, because giving money is only a part of the transaction. > Do stores really need to be connected to the internet all the time? Yes, they need to record transactions (in some cases live for tax purposes), update inventory, and in the case of a pharmacy also check medical files (if such a feature exists in the country in question), verify insurance information, check usage details on the specific drug, etc etc. Some of those could be batched offline and verified when the connection is back up, but others can't.
- jhbadger 2y agoConsidering that stores existed long before the Internet, perhaps all this is just a convenience that has become a liability.
- KronisLV 2y agoSo how did this work before the Internet was commonplace? > Some of those could be batched offline and verified when the connection is back up, but others can't. That feels like someone decided that implementing a resilient business continuity plan wasn't worth it (which it may as well be, the impact is great but the likelihood low), e.g. manually making phone calls to verify the needed information, having backup paper copies of documents and so on.
- 2y ago
- yawpitch 2y agoContext for those outside Canada, London Drugs is more of a department store than a drug store / pharmacy. They tend to have lots of general goods, computing and camera and electronics departments, and so on. I used to sell top-end Nikon SLRs there, of all things… along with the shittiest Star Trek inspired telephones Curtis ever made.
- vouaobrasil 2y ago[flagged]
- pixl97 2y agoWhy? Predators do not select the finest cut of meat to eat, they select the easiest to capture and kill. You're just falling for the "Why would attackers go after me, I'm a nobody" fallacy. Those attackers cast a wide net.
- vouaobrasil 2y agoWell, I am hoping that these "predators" have some sense of good will and at least go after the most evil: big tech. Not all "bad guys" are completely immoral.
- hollerith 2y ago"Predators" have been going after big tech, and big tech has responded by hiring actually competent security engineers, which is why you don't see stories of Google Search or Netflix closing its web site until further notice.
- vouaobrasil 2y agoAnd that is unfortunate. I hope they try harder.
- hollerith 2y agoI kind of doubt that even very-well-funded attackers such as Moscow and Beijing are able to take down Google Search or Youtube for a day. Moscow for example was recently very angry at SpaceX / Starlink, but I've not heard of any problems with the web site of SpaceX or Starlink (even though Moscow can and does hire a lot of experts at cyberattack). Sometimes the death star simply cannot be harmed by the rebels.
- b112 2y ago
- lynx23 2y agoIts not really a surprise that many commenters here seem to defend the relatively recent digital dependence. Kind of understandable, because most commenters here are working in tech, and obviously dont want to see problems like this. But this is asking the wolf how the sheep are supposed to be guarded... When I go to my pharmacy, the only reason why I need electricity there is to be able to pay with my watch. But that is a convenience. I always have cash in my pocket. Digital prescriptions are a very recent thing here where I live, basically since COVID. Before that, it was a simple piece of paper, and there was no validation that would require internet connectivity. But commenters here still seem to frame it as if the world would go down in flames if certain digital services were no longer available. Thats wrong, bordering on deliberately maniuplative. If a cyberattack can lead to a closed drug store, the problem is our reliance on digital, not the fact that the cyberattack happened.
- macintux 2y agoComputers make it possible to have the convenience of massive retail establishments with large inventories and a reasonable hope of finding what we want when we want it.
- lynx23 2y agoAnd moving production off to foreign countries helps reduce the costs, but creates a ton of availability problems in times of crisis. IOW, we have to weigh the advantages vs. the disadvantages. Its not enough to say "Computers make big things easier". Besides, there is probably a reason why antitrust laws exist. Getting too big apparently has more disadvantages then just monopolies.
- HeatrayEnjoyer 2y agoEntirely agreed but they still must query the national database of filled scripts (to prevent dr shopping e.g. opiate abuse) and that requires at least a phone line.
- lynx23 2y ago
- 2OEH8eoCRo0 2y agoWhich threat actor is involved?
- newsclues 2y agoCanada cybersecurity is bad. Recently the Toronto Public Library got hacked. And our government is worried about online harms haha
- rchaud 2y agoYou're using 2 examples of hacks to reach a conclusion about the state of cyber security across an entire country?
- newsclues 2y agoThere is more https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.7099290 https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.7099290 https://nationalpost.com/news/canadas-cybersecurity-under-siege-and-even-the-government-is-powerless https://nationalpost.com/news/canadas-cybersecurity-under-si... And our government is worried about calling people names
- djmips 2y agoI do have the feeling that Canada in general is a little bit complacent - it's been real cozy for a long time. But do I have anything to back this up? Not really other than working at different places and knowing that general feeling of - it's happening somewhere else.
- lenerdenator 2y agoSo, let's say I'm a diabetic who needs his insulin and was planning on picking it up today. What then? Attacks on Western digital infrastructure will continue until the "technologically talented" in countries like Russia and China (among other places) start seeing it as a way to invite imminent danger into their lives.
- itsoktocry 2y ago>So, let's say I'm a diabetic who needs his insulin and was planning on picking it up today. What then? You go to your pharmacy and they'll give it to you and make a note for repayment. Or you go to one of the other 500 pharmacies in the Province.
- xyst 2y agoWild. These types of attacks would be mild inconveniences if they had procedures in place for continuity of business. I am thinking: - Manual record keeping (ie, physical ledger) - Procedures to call insurance companies and verify coverage - Procedures to ask local doctors to phone in (or hand write) prescription requests instead of using e-prescription system - Credit and debit card information captured at point of sale with offline device. Processed outside of impacted systems or when systems recover
- betaby 2y agoHow 'Procedures to call insurance companies and verify coverage' prevents store shutdown? In my worldview insurance is 'sometimes we pay if ensured event occurs'. Lack or presence of the insurance changes nothing about the attack.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- taylortbb 2y agoThey're a pharmacy, they get directly reimbursed by customer's drug insurance plans and only charge customers for the uninsured amount. They need to submit prescriptions to insurance, and find out how much insurance is covering, before filling prescriptions.
- betaby 2y agoThey are completely down because of the breach. Insurance in any context is irrelevant.
- barkingcat 2y agoYou are mistakening medical insurance with computer/cyber insurance. The post above you is talking about having manual communication with the provincial and federal medical insurance (Canada has national insurance) to confirm customers have the appropriate insurance ready so they can dispense pills, medication, and medical equipment, which is life critical equipment and supplies for many of their customers, without access to computers (which is doable if they had the procedures ready) It’s to do with business continuity of the pharmacy’s work, nothing to do with breach.
- amatecha 2y agoI dropped by an LD shop tonight hoping to purchase one item. The doors were locked, with signage that the stores were closed (I assumed they would have reopened by now). They had some staff on hand, mostly to pass along info to would-be customers and let pharmacy-goers in. The guy at the door said I can make an online order and pick it up. So I did so. The website said "available in under 30 minutes!", which was great! I wasn't getting the "item ready for pickup" email though, and eventually I went back and was told "we literally can't access the systems to handle the order", the ppl at the store are totally locked out of their online systems (I guess). Pretty dire. They will apparently start reopening stores in a "rotating" fashion, which is pretty surprising (especially for a company of this size). The guy had no clue when I'll be able to pick up my order.