Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press Published Monday, August 8, 2022 10:49 PM EDT Last Updated Monday, August 8, 2022 11:33 PM EDT
TORONTO – Ontario’s cannabis store says a cyberattack faced by one of its logistics partners has left the province’s marijuana distributor unable to process or ship orders to marijuana stores and customers.
OCS said Monday evening that there was no indication that its systems were targeted or its customers’ information was compromised during the Aug. 5 attack on the parent company of its third-party distribution center, Domain Logistics.
“However, out of an abundance of caution to protect OCS and its customers, the decision has been made to close Domain Logistics’ operations until a full forensic investigation has been completed,” OCS said in a statement.
Domain Logistics did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but OCS said it is working closely with the company and third-party cybersecurity experts to conduct an investigation that is ongoing and expected to conclude in the coming days.
The breach will affect customers who shop on the OCS website — Ontario’s only legal online retailer of recreational cannabis — and the approximately 1,333 licensed cannabis stores that have no choice but to buy the products they sell from the government-backed OCS.
A letter from OCS to retailers obtained by The Canadian Press said all new product launches planned for this week will now be “postponed until further notice.”
“As a gesture of goodwill,” OCS will also waive all merchant shipping fees until September 30 and a $500 processing fee for one rush order per store between September 1 and March 31, 2023.
OCS and Domain Logistics did not say how soon deliveries might be restarted, but promised to provide updates on the matter as they become available.
The incident follows OCS’ May 11 announcement that the Ontario Provincial Police is investigating the “misappropriation” of confidential store sales data.
That breach “was not a breach of IT security or systems,” OCS said after quickly launching an investigation to identify the source, restricting access to internal data reports and notifying police.
Both violations come amid heightened competition in Ontario’s cannabis industry, which has seen the number of marijuana dispensaries explode in recent months.
Many are predicting store closures as the demand for cannabis has not increased at the same rate as store openings, the illegal market remains strong, and stores are constantly having to squeeze their margins as competitors continually cut prices.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on August 8, 2022.
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