Co-op websites back online following cybersecurity incident

Federated Co-op Limited (FCL) has reported that its corporate and local Co-op websites are now all back online.

The announcement comes 20 days after the company was rocked by what it calls a “cybersecurity incident.”

“We encourage Co-op customers to visit their local website and once again, we thank Co-op members, customers and the public for their patience and understanding,” FCL said in the announcement.

On June 27, FCL reported its internal and customer facing systems were down following the incident. Additionally, all Co-op cardlock fuel locations were inoperable.

The company revealed that it had shut down many of its systems as a precaution and would gradually restart them as it continued to investigate the incident.

The IT issues led to supply problems for many Co-op locations across Saskatchewan — with residents reporting empty shelves and other shortages.

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On July 10, the company released an update claiming it was aware of reports that hackers were threatening to release sensitive stolen data.

The company did not confirm nor deny whether the reports were true, saying instead that any determination would be made by the third party experts it hired to investigate.

“If the investigation determines that data was in fact compromised, as previously stated, we will take appropriate action,” FCL Spokesperson Brad DeLorey said in the statement.

At the time, FCL reiterated that the incident had been contained.

Speaking to CTV News on July 11, ethical hacker Terry Cutler explained that the market for information is growing, increasing the appetite for hacking.

“Their goal is to take this data and sell it on the dark web,” Cutler said. “Then reuse that data and target more people.”

A study by the University of Maryland found more than 2,200 cyberattacks happen everyday — representing one every 39 seconds.

It’s estimated that 800,000 people experience ransomware attacks, phishing attacks or data security breaches annually.

Approximately 88.5 million people fall victim to cybercrimes every year.

-With files from Donovan Maess.