Some Yukon grocery stores feeling the impact of cyberattack on major food distributor

‘We’re not able to put in any orders yet,’ said Lee Bodie, manager of the Tatchun Centre in Carmacks

A cyberattack on a major Canadian food distributor is now affecting some grocery stores in the Yukon.

Last week, Federated Co-operatives Limited announced it was experiencing a “cyber security incident that is impacting some of its customer-facing systems.”

One of the systems being the ability for some stores to order inventory.

Lee Bodie is the manager of the Tatchun Centre in the Village of Carmacks. He said he’s tried to call the wholesaler but all of the phone lines are down, which is preventing him from making his regular grocery order.

“We’re not able to put in any orders yet,” he said. “All of the Edmonton numbers are shut down. We can’t talk to anyone. It’s all email.”

Awaiting shipments 

Bodie said through email correspondence with FCL, the company has assured him that his shipment will remain on schedule.

“They are going through their memory banks and looking at our history and ordering what they think we need,” he said. “They can tell by what we’ve ordered in the past when we should be able to get it. It’s not the perfect plan but it’s the only plan they have right now until they get their computers back up and running.”

Bodie said the first shipment under the new system will arrive on Wednesday. He’s optimistic that business will remain the same but said he expects some kinks may have to be worked out.

“We’ll see how that goes,” he said. “They say the trucks will be leaving on time and it should be business as usual as far as getting stuff to us. It’s just we don’t know what we’re getting.”

‘Hectic situation’

Chris Irvin runs the Super A grocery store in Watson Lake, Yukon. He called the situation hectic, as he scrambled to figure out a plan with the FCL to keep his store’s shelves stocked.

CBC Yukon reached out to Federated Co-operatives Limited but the company declined an interview.

“The statement we are making is the one that’s been posted on our social media channels,” a spokesperson for the company said.

Related stories from around the North: 

Greenland: Growing focus on Arctic puts Greenland at higher risk of cyber attacks: assessment, Eye on the Arctic

Finland: Russian cyber attacks, espionage pose growing threat to Finnish national security, Yle News

United States: University of Alaska Anchorage to lead center of excellence on Arctic security, Eye on the Arctic