On Monday, US store chain 7-Eleven shut down all of its 176 outlets scattered across Denmark after a cyberattack disrupted cash and payment registers.
According to a notice on the 7-Eleven Facebook page, the attack took place right at the start of the workweek.
‘Unfortunately, we suspect that we have been exposed to a hacker attack today, Monday 8 August 2022,’ the notice said. “This means that we cannot use cash registers and/or receive payment. We are therefore keeping the stores closed until we know the extent.”
Managing Director Jesper Østergaard said the company is investigating the nature of the attack.
“Yesterday, we were the victims of a computer hack,” he said. “The cash registers just stopped working in all the stores and the employees started letting us know. That has never happened before.”
Five of 7-Eleven’s 176 stores in Denmark have since reopened. However, the stores only accept cash and MobilePay transfers from customers.
“We resumed operations in some stores overnight,” the company said on its Instagram account on Tuesday. “We expect to open more during the day.”
The company did not disclose the nature of the cyberattack or say when all of its stores might be fully operational again. Until now there has been no mention of any ransom demands.