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UPDATED: Canadian weather websites still struggling after supplier attack

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UPDATE: On September 22nd the LockBit ransomware gang listed Pelmorex as one of its victims, claiming it has downloaded “a lot of databases.” It has given the company until September 24th to pay a ransom or the stolen data will be released.

In response to a query from IT World Canada, Pelmorex issued this statement; “Pelmorex Corp. is aware of web postings related to the recent cyberattack. We are working with leading global cybersecurity experts and based on everything we know thus far, the attackers obtained limited access to publicly available information. If there is any change or update to our findings, we will notify all relevant parties in accordance with the law.

“We have re-established most of our operations, and our apps and systems continue to be safe to use. Users may still encounter occasional system downtimes and glitches as we diligently work towards returning to normal operations.    

“We want to thank Canadians for their patience and understanding through the past 10 days.”

Pelmorex Corp., the parent company of two Canadian weather websites, is still struggling to resume full service after an unnamed software provider was hit by a cyber attack.

As of early Thursday (Sept. 14th) TheWeatherNetwork.com and its French-language site MétéoMédia.com had partial weather offerings available, but not the full forecasts with details that are normally posted.

Pelmorex’s website had this explanation of the attack Thursday morning

On Tuesday, Pelmorex said it “has been impacted by a cybersecurity incident connected to a third-party software provider. This has affected The Weather Network and MétéoMédia weather data systems only.” Pelmorex’s home site was unaffected.

The company’s Alert Ready service — which broadcasts weather, fire, biologic, environmental and other warnings on TVs, wireless phones and tablets — wasn’t affected.

Pelmorex said cyber security experts have been notified. Full restoration of the weather websites was promised “as soon as possible.”

Asked for comment, a Pelmorex spokesperson referred to the statement on the company’s website.

The spokesperson didn’t reply to questions about the name of the third-party software provider, how the attack started or when regular website services will be restored.

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