Malware Outbreak Causes Disruptions, Closures at Canadian Restaurant Chain
Recipe Unlimited, a publicly traded company that operates nearly 1,400 restaurants under 19 different brands in Canada, has experienced what appears to be a significant security incident impacting several of its brands.
The company — formerly Cara Operations — on Monday noted that a malware outbreak caused a partial network outage at nine of its franchises. Among those impacted were Swiss Chalet, Harvey's, East Side Mario's, and Kelseys. A "small number" of restaurants have been closed for a "temporary period of time" because of service issues related to the malware, the company said in a statement.
In a report Wednesday, CBC News described Recipe as the victim of a ransomware attack that forced several locations across Canada to temporarily close down this week. CBC posted a copy of a ransom note that it said had been obtained from a worker at one of the affected restaurants, who described all systems at that location as having crashed.
