Abraham Jewett  |  November 17, 2022

Category: Data Breach

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Exterior of a Sobey's location.
(Photo Credit: kevin brine/Shutterstock)

Sobeys data breach overview: 

  • Who: Supermarkets and pharmacies owned by Sobeys are dealing with IT system issues following an apparent data breach against Empire Company Limited. 
  • Why: Empire disclosed to the public that it was dealing with IT system issues earlier this month while reportedly informing Canadian privacy watchdogs that it was the victim of a data breach. 
  • Where: Sobeys’ owned pharmacies and supermarkets are across Canada. 

Supermarkets and pharmacies owned and operated by Sobeys are dealing with IT system issues in the wake of an apparent data breach against Empire Company Limited, of which Sobeys is a wholly-owned subsidiary. 

Sobeys’ owned supermarkets that are affected by the data breach include Sobeys, Safeway, Foodland, FreshCo, Lawson Drugs, Thrifty Foods, and IGA, among others, reports Bleeping Computer

Empire announced earlier this month that it was dealing with what it referred to as “IT system issues” that it said was impacting some of its in-store systems at its grocery stores and pharmacies.

“Our stores are currently experiencing systems issues that are affecting some of the services offered. All our stores remain open to serve you and are not experiencing significant disruptions at this time,” Empire said. 

Empire disclosed that some of its in-store services would be “functioning intermittently or with a delay,” and that some of its pharmacies were “experiencing technical difficulties in fulfilling prescriptions.” 

“While the Company is making significant progress in reducing the impact of this disruption, at this time it is unable to determine when all issues affecting its systems will be fully resolved,” Empire said, at the time. 

Altria Argues Against ‘Vague’ Accusations by Tribes

In addition to its public disclosure, Empire informed Canadian privacy watchdogs that it was the victim of a data breach that it said may have compromised personal information, reports Global News

The data breach, meanwhile, appears to have been linked to Black Basta ransomware, which became one of the most widespread ransomware within months after it was first observed in April, reports SecurityWeek

Sobeys has not publicly linked the incident to a cyberattack, reports Bleeping Computer. 

Last month, Ontario’s Superior Court approved a $3.4 million settlement agreement made to resolve claims revolving around the handling of a 2018 data breach by Ontario-based private health care services provider CarePartners. 

Have you experienced delays at Sobeys grocery stores this month? Let us know in the comments! 


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9 thoughts onSobeys data breach led to technical difficulties in stores, pharmacies

  1. Anna Clark says:

    Received a letter saying my personal information was breached, I’m an employee with Sobeys. Receive a one year membership to True Identity.

  2. Audrey Pegg-Taylor says:

    I hope there is a lawsuit. A 1 year subscription to TransUnion is an insult.
    Please keep us all informed of one. Thank you.

  3. Scott says:

    As a former Sobey’s employee, I also received a letter stating my personal information stolen. Why is my sensitive information 20 years after I left the company still on their servers?

  4. John G Pickup says:

    I was wondering why I was having long delays at the cashier. What pisses me off they wouldn’t say anything about it for months. Not right . If they don’t know if my account was compromised how would I know.

  5. Shane Donald says:

    I worked at Sobeys around 10 years ago, the fact I received a letter saying my personal info was hacked was quite a shock! It’s been a decade!!! Why do they still have my info on their servers?

  6. Kristal Coffin says:

    I was a pharmacy employee with Sobeys some time ago. Today I received a letter from them concerning a data breach that took place on Nov. 1, 2022, saying they aren’t sure if my information was accessed and said they are providing a year subscription for some sort of monitoring thing. Does this mean I have to monitor my information forever? I don’t know much about this stuff.

  7. Cheryl Kennedy says:

    I get my prescriptions filled through sobeys and believe my information might have been compromised, I am also employed by Empire, so don’t know if I’m entitled to compensation. Also worked through the whole IT Issues. I wasn’t able to purchase gift cards as well as customers, or able to use any scene rewards. I was also very limited to what work I could do at the store, so loss of hours. I have more I can add ,but prefer not to disclose here.

  8. pat says:

    shop daily at sobeys and had issues at cashier when scanning my products..add me to this lawsuit

  9. Darlene Jilks says:

    I had an issue trying to connect my Scene card to Sobey’s due to data breach.

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