Ontario liquor store chain suffers cyberattack, forced to go cash-only

Attack disabled store chain’s credit and debit processing capabilities

Ontario liquor store chain suffers cyberattack, forced to go cash-only

Cyber

By Lyle Adriano

A major retail beer outlet chain has announced that it was targeted by a cyberattack – one that has disabled its payment processing capabilities, forcing the stores to accept cash-only payments.

Over 400 branches of The Beer Store were affected by the cyberattack. The company issued a statement on Twitter recently, saying that the attack occurred overnight, and that it is “following internal response protocols.” The tweet also indicated that some of The Beer Store’s locations are operating with cash only.

A spokesperson for Brewers Retail – the group of brewing corporations that owns The Beer Store – confirmed with CBC News that the attack happened overnight and that the store will go over its internal response protocols.

“We continue to implement physical distancing and are following all public health guidelines,” the official statement added.

Neither of the statements make it clear if the cyberattack was successful, nor if The Beer Store’s point of sale system or website were affected.

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