Canadian Pharmacy London Drugs suddenly closed its services on Sunday following a nationwide cyberattack that hit its operations.
In a statement to CBC, the pharmacy confirmed it became a "victim of a cybersecurity incident," hitting its operations across Western Canada.
The company has temporarily shut down its operations across nearly 80 establishments, advising customers to "phone their local store's pharmacy to make arrangements."
The Canadian pharmacy said the service shutdown will be temporary, although no time was given when it will be back to full operation.
It remains also uncertain if the cyberattack has compromised any vital personal information of its patients, customers, and employees.
Cyberattacks Become More Rampant on Healthcare Companies
The attack on London Drugs follows the growing trend of hackers and threat actors becoming more brazen in their operations, targeting major healthcare services in North America and Europe.
UnitedHealth Group, one of the biggest healthcare providers in the US, reported a major cyberattack just last February that compromised thousands of its customer and employee data.
Russian-based cybercriminal group "Black Cat" claimed responsibility for the attack that crippled many pharmacies' services nationwide for nearly a week.
Reuters reported that UnitedHealth paid the hackers $22 million to retrieve the stolen data and prevent it from being published.
Two months later, the company reported another ransomware attack from RansomHub claiming it had also stolen critical data from the company.
It remains uncertain if Change Healthcare, the affected UnitedHealth subsidiary, has also paid out the ransomware group to protect its customers' data.
Related Article : US Pharmacies Became Target of Nationwide Ransomware Attacks
Ransomware Attacks Surge Through 2024 Amid AI Concerns
It is not only healthcare providers that are suffering from an increase in financially-motivated cyberattacks over the past 12 months.
Following a surge in ransomware attacks in 2023, ransomware attacks have been noted to rise in financial sectors and government agencies around the world.
Several tech experts and cybersecurity groups have already pointed to the hackers using AI to boost their operations to the more rampant attacks.
Affected tech companies and government agencies are already working together to crack down on illegal practices and permanently disrupt the hackers' operations.
