Sobeys, Safeway grappling with IT issues as Maple Leaf Foods announces cybersecurity incident | CBC News

Some stores across Canada owned by Empire Company Ltd., including Sobeys, Safeway and affiliated pharmacy services, continue to experience disruptions due to an information technology systems issue.

Empire, which owns Sobeys, Lawtons, IGA, Safeway, Farm Boy, Foodland and FreshCo, among other brands, announced Monday an IT problem is preventing some of its pharmacies from filling prescriptions.

The issue has also caused some services to be delayed or to function only intermittently.

A news release from the company said it is working to remedy the problem, but could not estimate when all services will be restored.

“At Sobeys, exceeding the needs of our customers is always our top priority,” said chief operating officer Pierre St-Laurent in the news release. “Our sole focus right now is on getting this problem rectified and we will provide further updates as relevant information becomes available.”

The CBC contacted the company to ask questions about the IT issue, but an emailed response simply pointed to the news release.

Over the weekend, some pharmacy staff told the CBC they were not able to access their computers, but that they could supply customers with a few days’ worth of medication if customers presented their empty bottles.

Maple Leaf announces ‘cybersecurity incident’

Meanwhile, Maple Leaf Foods announced in a news release late Sunday night that a “cybersecurity incident” caused a system outage at the company.

The company said it became aware of the issue over the weekend and immediately began working with cybersecurity and recovery experts, information systems professionals and third-party specialists to investigate the outage.

Maple Leaf said it expects ongoing service and operational disruptions as it works to resolve the outage, and said it does not have an estimated time frame for restoration.

The company declined an interview. In an emailed statement, Maple Leaf said the disruptions “vary by business unit, plant and site.”