June 26 – Over the weekend, Suncor Energy experienced a “cyber incident” that has rendered numerous Petro-Canada gas stations unable to process credit cards or debt cards. The incident has forced the enterprises to become cash-only.
On Sunday, Suncor stated that it was partnering with third-party experts to investigate and address 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,” said Suncor.
Further information
On account of the cyber incident, the Petro-Points app cannot be accessed and at some Petro-Canada stations, car washes may be unavailable.
An Ottawa resident, who pays for the service that allows him to get as many car washes as he wants within 90 days, reports that he’s been unable to obtain a car wash since Thursday of last week. He drove to numerous locations around Ottawa and learned that none could run their car washes.
“…you cannot redeem any of your pre-loaded passes for car washes,” he told CBC news. “Every Petro-Canada in Ottawa…will only take cash – they clearly have a major problem.”
Ransomware attacks
The incident occurs on the heels of a warning from the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security. The warning noted that ransomware was the No. 1 cyber threat facing Canada’s oil and gas sector.
“Ransomware is almost certainly the primary cyber threat to the reliable supply of oil and gas to Canadians,” said the Centre.
For insights into how to protect your critical infrastructure organization from ransomware threats, please see Cyber Talk’s resources:
- Essential Best Practices: Securing Critical National Infrastructure
- Critical National Infrastructure: Cyber Security Preparedness
- The Ultimate Ransomware Prevention Checklist
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