Cyberattack at Sobeys: Merchants still can’t place their orders

For six days, Quebec traders were unable to place orders on Sobey’s system, which is still down. While the shelves are empty, traders turn their noses up at the parent company.

“My delivery guy from Sobeys came and said, ‘We’ve been hacked!’ ” said an employee behind the window of Shell, whose convenience stores are also owned by Sobeys. “I was lucky, I placed a big order last week. But if this continues, it will be empty, that’s for sure. »

In Quebec, IGA, IGA Express, Shell, Bonnychoix, Tradition, Bonnysoir, Voisin and Rachel-Berry stores all rely on the Sobey’s system for their orders.

Empty counters

“Our counters are empty and our shelves are bare. Customers are unhappy and don’t understand because Sobey’s demands that we say nothing,” the owner of Bonnissoire said on condition of anonymity (as did all the people mentioned in this text).

News magazine Sobeys has visited several businesses affected by what it calls a “computer problem”, although all evidence points to a cyberattack. If everything seems to be working as usual in many IGAs, we can assume that anxiety is growing among many traders.

“For deliveries, this is a big problem. You cannot order anything. If it continues for a few more days it will become problematic. We don’t know what’s going on. We’re in the dark,” said the owner of Bonnychoix on the North Shore.

According to our sources, Sobeys sends products to merchants, but on a historical basis.

“The problem is, we’re going to receive unwanted shipments and we’re going to be the next ones to get caught with it,” said one trader.

It is the same story in traditional markets. “We’re starting to run out of stock, but we have it brokers Other companies that help us, is a possibility,” said a clerk. His colleague said the store had no choice but to accept in the meantime. “But we don’t know much. And when you know something, you can’t talk…”

The law of silence

Sobeys has asked its dealers and employees not to speak to the media or on their social networks. Moreover, several traders we met told us that even if they knew something, they couldn’t tell us.

“We understood between the lines that it was a cyberattack, but they never uttered the word,” one of them told us.

“There is a lot of lack of transparency. The bond of trust between the traders and the parent company is broken. We are losing money,” lamented Bonnychoix’s owner.

Sobeys (owned by Empire Company Limited) has reportedly been the victim of a cyberattack since last Friday. This affects Sobey’s and their subsidiaries across Canada. The hackers are rumored to be asking for a ransom of 500 Bitcoins, which is around CA $13.5 million.

The Empire company has yet to release any information since a scathing press release issued on Monday that referred to a “computer problem.”

Banners operated by Sobey’s in Quebec

• IGA
• IGA-Express
• Bonychoix
• Tradition
• boni-evening
• a neighbor
• Shell Convenience Stores
• Rachel-Berry