London Drugs begins gradual reopening after cyberattack

Retailer London Drugs says it is “gradually reopening” its stores after a cybersecurity incident shut down operations for six days.

In a statement, the company said that it will not communicate about which stores are opening and when.

The store systems are complex and connect with multiple third-party systems that “all have different requirements,” the company said.

“We ask for patience as we work with each store to ensure it is operating fully to meet the needs of our customers.”

On Saturday afternoon, the downtown Victoria London Drugs at 911 Yates St. remained closed to customers apart from pharmacy services, with an employee posted outside who was turning away a steady stream of people.

The Canada Post outlet inside was operating but the rest of the store remains closed, he told prospective customers.

A Nanaimo resident told CHEK News that the London Drugs location in the North Town Centre mall reopened at 11 a.m. Saturday.

London Drugs said that it is working with third-party cybersecurity experts to bring its systems back online safely in what it described as a “time-consuming process.”

“We are only turning on systems we have full confidence are safe and secure,” the company said.

The statement reiterated that London Drugs does not believe that any customer databases have been compromised as a result of the incident.

“In the event our ongoing investigation later determines that personal information was impacted, we will notify affected individuals in accordance with privacy laws,” the statement said.

The company, based in Richmond, has about 80 stores across B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

All of them have been shut since the cybersecurity incident, which was first reported on April 28.