Ontario Cannabis Store unable to process deliveries after partner faces cyberattack
TORONTO — The Ontario Hashish Retailer says a cyberattack confronted by one in all its logistics companions has left the provincial pot distributor unable to course of or ship orders to marijuana outlets and clients.
The OCS mentioned Monday night there isn’t a indication that its programs have been focused or its clients’ info compromised in the course of the Aug. 5 assault on the mother or father firm of its third-party distribution centre, Area Logistics.
“Nevertheless, out of an abundance of warning to guard OCS and its clients, the choice was made to close down Area Logistics’ operations till a full forensic investigation could possibly be accomplished,” the OCS mentioned in a press release.
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Pot store gross sales information breach may shift competitors in market, alter confidence in OCS
Area Logistics didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark, however the OCS mentioned it’s working carefully with the corporate and third-party cybersecurity consultants to conduct an investigation, which is underway and anticipated to be full inside the coming days.
The breach stands to influence clients who store for pot on the OCS web site — the one authorized on-line retailer of leisure hashish in Ontario — and roughly 1,333 licensed hashish shops, which haven’t any alternative however to purchase the merchandise they promote from the government-backed OCS.
An OCS letter to retailers obtained by The Canadian Press mentioned the launch of any new merchandise scheduled for this week will now be “delayed till additional discover.”
“As a goodwill gesture,” the OCS may even waive all retailer supply charges till Sept. 30 and a $500 processing payment for one emergency order per retailer between Sept. 1 and March 31, 2023.
Learn extra:
Ontario’s hashish retailer openings sluggish as authorized pot’s share of gross sales up: OCS
The OCS and Area Logistics haven’t mentioned how quickly deliveries could also be restarted, however promised to supply updates on the matter as they grew to become accessible.
The incident follows an OCS announcement Might 11 that the Ontario Provincial Police have been investigating the “misappropriation” of confidential retailer gross sales information.
That breach “was no failure of IT safety or programs,” the OCS mentioned, after it shortly launched an investigation to establish the supply, restricted entry to inner information reviews and notified the police.
Each breaches got here amid heightened competitors in Ontario’s hashish trade, which has seen the variety of pot outlets explode in current months.
Many predict retailer closures are on their means as a result of demand for hashish has not elevated on the identical charge as store openings, the illicit market stays robust and shops are persistently having to cut back their margins as rivals steadily drop costs.
