BREAKING: Indigo Gets Hit by Cyber Attack

"We are working with third-party experts to investigate and resolve the situation," the company said in a message posted on its website.

"Our hope is to have our systems back online as soon as possible."

According to Indigo they can't process electronic payments, accept gift cards or deal with returns. Physical stores are limited to processing sales with cash only.

David Masson, director of enterprise security at cybersecurity firm Darktrace, says the length of the problem suggests it wasn't an internal error, and rather an instance of ransomware, where hackers steal information, lock systems and demand a ransom to release them.

"Their point-of-sale system has gone down... and they've also said that they're unable to take returns anymore, which kind of implies that they're unable to bring stock back into the system."

If "just a small part of an organization is going down, it's probably not ransomware," he said. "But if it's more widespread, that's kind of a hint that it might be."

Ransomware "really does muck up your organization, and it's not going to get fixed in a few hours," he said.

Learn more about how ransomware can affect your business on our IT Solutions Blog here. 

Vice-president, Enza Alexander, at cybersecurity firm ISA, says that while she has no first-hand knowledge of what's happening at Indigo, retailers are becoming popular targets for cybercriminals because of the rise of online shopping — and they're more noticeable when they happen because they are in the public eye.

"Financial gains [are] how the cybercriminals are generating dollars to feed their endeavours," she told CBC News.

While she says it's too early to tell what's happened at Indigo, her advice for consumers boils down to basic common sense.

"I've always advised people close to me 'You're one click away from making the wrong click,'" she said.

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