Danish 7-Eleven stores closed shop after a cyberattack disrupted the company’s nationwide payment systems.
The attack took place on the morning of Monday, August 8. “We suspect that we’ve been exposed to a cyberattack”, the retail chain announced on Facebook. 7-Eleven is an American multinational with multiple stores in Denmark. The quotes in this article were translated from Danish.
“This means that we are unable to use cash registers and/or receive payments”, the organization continued. “We are keeping the stores closed until we know more about the extent of the attack. Of course, we hope to be able to reopen the stores soon.”
Nationwide payment system
According to website BleepingComputer, an alleged employee posted on Reddit stating his or her workplace closed shop after the payment systems went down. “We work at the store in Strøget and our cash register system is not working. All stores in the country run on the same system, so all stores in Denmark are currently closed”, the alleged employee claimed in a now-deleted post.
Further details are unknown. 7-Eleven did not confirm the involvement of ransomware. Shutting down systems is a common measure to prevent the spread of ransomware. Website BleepingComputer contacted 7-Eleven, but did not receive additional information.
Cybersecurity rambles on
Some security professionals have their hands full over the summer. More than 100 Belgian and Dutch dental practices closed their doors due to a cyberattack on Colosseum Dental Benelux late last week. Earlier today, software provider Twilio announced that cybercriminals gained access to customer data.
Tip: Data privacy: from necessary security step to competitive advantage