Global Courant
Numerous gas stations in Petro-Canada can only process cash transactions as parent company Suncor works over the weekend to resolve what it calls a “cybersecurity incident.”
On Sunday, Suncor said it was working with outside experts to investigate and resolve the issue.
“At this time, we are not aware of any evidence that customer, supplier or employee data has been compromised or misused as a result of this situation,” Suncor said on Sunday. “As we work to resolve the incident, some customer and supplier transactions may be impacted.”
One such impact appears to be at stations in Petro-Canada, where various locations around the country are unable to process various electronic payments. The company’s loyalty program, Petro-Points, is also offline.
“Petro-Canada is a Suncor company and together we are responding to a cybersecurity incident. While our sites are open, you may experience interruptions to some services,” the company said on Twitter. “Some of our sites only accept cash and our app and Petro-Points login are not available. Car washes may also not be available in some locations.”
CBC News has independently verified that credit payment systems are down at numerous Petro-Canada locations across Canada, but it’s not known exactly how widespread the problem is or when it started. Suncor did not respond to multiple requests for comment Monday.
Petro-Canada customer Alan Tambosso went to fill up at a location in Aldersyde, Alta, just south of Calgary, and saw signs on the pump and in the store warning customers that the electronic payment systems weren’t working, he told CBC News in an interview . “They were all out. They only took cash.”
Ottawa resident Michael Blackie pays for a service that allows him to get as many car washes as he wants in 90 days for $220. He hasn’t been able to get his hands on one since Thursday, when he drove to numerous Ottawa locations and discovered that all of them were broken.
“It hasn’t worked since Thursday last week. The online portal isn’t working and you can’t redeem any of your preloaded car wash passes,” he told CBC News. “Every Petro-Canada in Ottawa … will only take cash – they obviously have a big problem.”
Growing cyber threat
The incident comes just days after the Canadian Center for Cyber Security warned that ransomware attacks – in which hackers gain access to a company’s internal system and demand payment in exchange for a refund – were the No. 1 cyberthreat to the Canadian oil and gas industry. and gas industry. sector.
Ransomware is almost certainly the number one cyberthreat to the reliable supply of oil and gas to Canadians.
Canadian retailer Indigo was hit by a ransomware attack in March that made it impossible to process sales with anything other than cash for several days in March, causing the company’s e-commerce platform to be offline for even longer.
