Closing London Drugs stores was the ‘right thing to do’: President

The president and chief operating officer of London Drugs is apologizing to customers who were inconvenienced by more than a week of store closures in Western Canada due to a cyberattack.

Clint Mahlman says he hopes people understand and insists the closures were “the right thing to do” to protect customers’ personal data

“We had to sacrifice our normal openness with the media to make sure that the bad actors — as I’m sure they’re listening now — we don’t give them any more leverage points than they already had,” Mahlman told CityNews Thursday afternoon.

However, Mahlman is keeping tight-lipped on who the hackers were, what they were after, or how they got into the London Drugs systems.

“The investigation is ongoing, and obviously the cybersecurity experts see certain print footprints that may indicate who these bad actors are,” he explained.

“But for the protection of our customers’ data and to make sure that we do as best we can, and so we don’t embolden any further cyber strikes, is that we will be keeping that information quiet, and we will not be sharing that on a future date.”

How much the company lost during the nationwide closure, which shuttered 79 stores, also won’t be shared, Mahlman says.

“It’s a significant impact to the company. It’s obviously a very big and dramatic decision to shut down all company operations and remain closed, as we [now] open in a methodical safe, and secure way using the expertise of the cyber security experts.

“But it [was] the right thing to do. And I think, hopefully the customers will understand that.

“I apologize for the inconvenience it’s created and any concern. But that’s the degree to which we care for our customers, is to take that dramatic action.”

–With files from Michael Williams and Mike Lloyd