In a recent turn of events, the LockBit ransomware gang has claimed responsibility for the cyberattack on Canadian pharmacy chain London Drugs, which occurred in April. The cybercriminals are now threatening to release sensitive data online after reportedly unsuccessful negotiations with the company.
London Drugs, which employs over 9,000 people across 80 stores in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and British Columbia, was forced to shut down all its retail locations following the April 28 cyberattack. At the time, the company assured the public that there was no evidence indicating that customer or employee data had been compromised.
Despite these reassurances, the LockBit gang has now listed London Drugs on its extortion portal, threatening to publish stolen data unless a $25 million ransom is paid. London Drugs, however, has stated that they are both unwilling and unable to meet this ransom demand.
On May 9, Clint Mahlman, London Drugs' President and Chief Operating Officer, reiterated that a forensic investigation conducted by third-party cybersecurity experts found no evidence of compromised customer databases, including health data. Nevertheless, as a precautionary measure, the company has notified all current employees and offered 24 months of complimentary credit monitoring and identity theft protection services.
The company’s website remains down, displaying an error message indicating an internal server issue. London Drugs has acknowledged that the ransomware gang's claims about stealing files from its corporate head office could potentially include employee information, although they have not provided specifics on the nature or extent of the data possibly impacted.
LockBit, a ransomware-as-a-service operation that surfaced in September 2019, has a notorious history of targeting high-profile organisations worldwide. Despite a significant law enforcement operation in February 2024 that dismantled part of their infrastructure and seized numerous decryption keys, the gang continues to be active. They have moved to new servers and dark web domains, continuing to launch attacks and release stolen data.
The ransomware group has stated that negotiations with London Drugs initially involved an offer of $8 million from the company, a claim for which they provided no evidence. London Drugs maintains that they did not offer any ransom and continues to take all available steps to mitigate the impact of the cyberattack.
Shawnigan Lake-based threat analyst Brett Callow noted that his cybersecurity company, Emsisoft, was immediately aware of LockBit's listing due to their dark net tracking tools. He emphasised the real risk that LockBit might follow through on their threat to release the stolen data.
Authorities have highlighted that LockBit, dominated by Russian-speaking individuals, has no known connections to state-sponsored activities. The ransomware group has previously been linked to several high-profile attacks, including those on Boeing, the Continental automotive giant, and the UK Royal Mail.
London Drugs continues to investigate the extent of the breach and is in contact with relevant authorities. The company has also reassured that it will notify affected individuals in compliance with privacy laws should any customer or employee data be found compromised.
The ongoing saga of LockBit's attacks is a telling marker of the persistent threat of ransomware, stressing upon the importance of robust cybersecurity measures and proactive responses to such incidents.
