The Circle K convenience chain store in Hong Kong has suspended accepting electronic payments after a suspected cyberattack.
Circle K Hong Kong, which operates nearly 400 outlets across the city, said on Sunday evening that a network problem had affected its e-payment, email and loyalty programme systems.
“Our stores remain open and operating, and customers may pay with cash or Octopus, though electronic payment transactions are temporarily unavailable,” it said in a statement on social media.
“As we cannot rule out a possible cyberattack, we have acted quickly to secure customer, employee and supplier data, and are working with law enforcement to determine the cause, scope and extent of this breach, including whether any data has been compromised.”
On Monday, a notice was put up next to the cashier in a Circle K branch in Causeway Bay, saying it could not accept e-payments due to a “network outage”. The chain first announced on Saturday that its electronic payments, except via Octopus, had been disrupted.
Other services such as e-payment top-up, product pickup and utility bill payment services, as well as voucher, stamp collecting and stamp redemption functions under Circle K’s loyalty programme, were also suspended.
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