LockBit Claims London Drugs Hack, Threatens Data Dump
The LockBit group has claimed responsibility for the cyberattack on the Canadian pharmacy chain London Drugs and is now threatening to release the stolen data following unsuccessful negotiations.
The cyberattack on April 28 forced London Drugs to close all its pharmacies in Western Canada. At the time, the company stated that it had found no evidence of customer or employee data breaches. Although all the closed London Drugs pharmacies have since reopened, the company’s website remains inaccessible.
On May 21, LockBit added London Drugs to its website, claiming responsibility for the April cyberattack and threatening to publish data stolen from the company’s systems. While the extortionists have yet to provide proof that they stole any files from London Drugs’ servers, the cybercriminals assert that negotiations with the company for a $25 million ransom have failed.
In a statement to BleepingComputer, London Drugs did not confirm LockBit’s claims but acknowledged awareness of the extortionists’ statement about the theft of corporate files, some of which may contain employee information.” However, LockBit mentioned only stolen data.
London Drugs emphasized that it cannot and will not pay the ransom but acknowledged the possibility that the perpetrators might publish the stolen corporate files on the dark web.
“At this stage in our investigation, we are not able to provide specifics on the nature or extent of employee personal information potentially impacted. Our review is underway, but due to and the extent of system damage caused by this cyber incident, we expect this review will take some time to perform,” London Drugs stated.
As a precaution, the company has proactively notified all current employees and provided 24 months of free credit monitoring and identity theft protection services, regardless of whether their data is ultimately found to be compromised.
London Drugs employs more than 9,000 staff members, providing pharmaceutical and medical services at over 80 locations across Western Canada, including the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and British Columbia.
