London Drugs stores remain closed due to cybersecurity issue

As London Drugs stores remain closed due to a “cybersecurity incident,” the company says it has been forced to take its phone lines down temporarily “as a necessary part of its internal investigation.”

It’s unclear when stores will be able to reopen. They’ve been closed since Sunday morning, when the “incident” was reported. The company confirmed in a statement to CityNews that closures remained in effect across western Canada Monday.

“Upon discovering the incident, London Drugs immediately undertook countermeasures to protect its network and data, including retaining leading third-party cybersecurity experts to assist with containment, remediation, and to conduct a forensic investigation,” the statement explained.

“At this time, we have no reason to believe that customer or employee data has been impacted.”

London Drugs says it moved to close all its western Canada locations “out of an abundance of caution,” with no estimated time of reopening given.

In an updated statement, the company said it would restore phone lines “as soon as the investigation permits it.”

“In the interim, Pharmacy staff are on-site at all London Drugs locations to support customers with urgent pharmacy needs. We advise customers to visit their local store in-person for immediate support and until the phone lines are back in service,” the company explained.

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Initially, the company said in a social media post that it was “an operational issue” that it was dealing with.

“Pharmacists are standing by to support with urgent pharmacy needs. We advise customers to phone their local store’s pharmacy to make arrangements,” London Drugs said in posts Sunday morning.

A photo from the entrance of the London Drugs at Broadway and Cambie in Vancouver said the store was down due to a system error, and that it was unable to process transactions of any kind.

“We currently have no ETA, however, IT is working hard to resolve the issue,” the sign reads.

There are 52 stores in B.C., 21 stores in Alberta, five in Saskatchewan, and one in Manitoba.

CityNews has reached out to London Drugs for more information.

-With files from The Canadian Press