Public
Frustration Mounts Online After Verdance Cyberattack Freezes Payroll and Business Transfers
As systems at Verdance Financial began to recover from a crippling ransomware attack that halted back-office payment operations earlier this month, frustration across social media showed no signs of easing.
From missed paycheques and delayed rent to shops unable to pay suppliers, Canadians took to X and Facebook to voice their anger over the multi-day outage â and what many described as âvagueâ communication from the credit union during the disruption.
âSo @Verdance employee payroll is locked up from that cyberattack and now my rent is going to be late,â posted user @leahdubois. âThis is so messed up itâs not even funny.â
Another user, @justincarr, whose profile identifies him as a small business owner in Quebec, expressed similar concerns under the hashtag #VerdanceHack.
âWhen is Verdance going to give us a straight answer on how long this mess will last and when we can get paid?? I canât keep operating my shop with suppliers on hold and bills piling up.â
On Facebook, users echoed the sentiment.
âCurrently in downtown Toronto, and yet another ATM is down because of the Verdance Financial cyberattack,â wrote Paul Martin. âAll the disruptions this week have seriously screwed over so many local businesses.â
The attack, which began in early February, stemmed from a phishing breach that allowed attackers to encrypt internal systems. While consumer-facing services such as debit cards and ATM withdrawals remained functional, internal financial systems â including payroll, loan approvals, and wire transfers â were rendered inoperable for several days.
Verdance has since brought in cybersecurity firm Redfield Mandiant to assist with containment and recovery, and committed $20 million toward strengthening its digital security infrastructure. But for many affected users, the damage extended beyond systems â it hit trust.
âThe tech might be fixed,â wrote one reply, âbut good luck repairing your reputation.â
Reporting where the public speaks loudest â online and unfiltered. â Jamie Mora
Public
Transit Chaos Ensues as Riders Report Sudden $0 Balances on siberX Transit Systems Cards
TORONTO, ON â
Morning commuters across the city were thrown into confusion today as hundreds of riders reported that their siberX Transit Systems cards suddenly displayed a $0 balance, despite many claiming they had topped up their cards within the last 24 hours.
Long lines formed at station kiosks as frustrated passengers attempted to reload their cardsâonly to see their funds vanish immediately. Several users said their transaction histories had been wiped clean, showing no record of recent reloads.
Transit officials have acknowledged âintermittent account visibility issuesâ but have not confirmed the cause. The outage comes as the city continues managing system instability from earlier disruptions.
Social media erupts
Within minutes, social platforms were flooded with posts from confused and anxious riders:
âHELLOOO?? Just loaded $50 last night and now my card says $0?? Iâm not walking to work in November.â â @sarahsnotes
âEveryone at St. Andrew station is standing around tapping their cards like itâll magically fix itself. Mine just straight up reset.â â @johnnyboy
âWhy is my siberX card acting broke when Iâm not???â â @throughmylens
âCan confirm: vibes terrible, balance gone, line wrapped around the platform.â â @coldbrewandchaos
Some posts also claimed that tapping a second time would âforce the balance to refresh,â while others warned that âcards are being drained with every tap.â None of these claims have been verified.
Confusion spills into stations
Station staff were quickly overwhelmed as riders demanded explanations, refunds, or temporary passes. One commuter described the scene as âa mix of panic, annoyance, and people loudly Googling whether this has happened before.â
Several stations briefly halted fare-gate enforcement to prevent overcrowding, allowing riders through while the issue was investigated.
Officials urge patience
siberX Transit Systems released a short statement saying teams are âactively working to restore accurate balance informationâ and advising riders to avoid repeated reload attempts until the issue is resolved.
No timeline for a fix has been provided.
In the meantime, social media continues to amplify rumours, speculation, and memesânone of which are helping restore calm to an already strained transit network.
Reporting where the public speaks loudest â online and unfiltered. â Jamie Mora
Public
âBro is the ocean coming or not??â â Canada MELTS DOWN After Fake Tsunami Alert Sparks Chaos
Ottawa, ON â
If you were on Canadian TikTok or X (formerly Twitter) this past Tuesday, you already know: everyone thought they were gonna die.
Phones across Ontario blared with an emergency alert around 8:37 AM:
âTSUNAMI WARNING. Evacuate immediately.â
No context. No follow-up. Just panic.
Cue the chaos: people sprinting barefoot through downtown, grandmas grabbing cats, someone live-streaming themselves crying in a bathtub holding a bike helmet.
Only it wasnât real.
The federal government confirmed hours later that the alert was part of a cyberattack that exploited Canadaâs emergency alert infrastructure.
And now? The internet is absolutely roasting the government.
SOCIAL MEDIA REACTIONS (BECAUSE YOU KNOW THEY WENT OFF)
@urfavbarista (X):
ok but when the tsunami alert hit and my dad started packing granola bars while my mom yelled at siri, I realized weâre not surviving sh*t đ
@imnotjennifer (TikTok):
POV: youâre trying to evacuate but your carâs outta gas, your phoneâs at 2%, and you donât know which direction is âhigher groundâ đđđ
@shxwnxo (Threads):
CANADA: accidentally sends false nuke-level panic alert
ALSO CANADA: âwhoopsies, that was hackers lol anywayâ
@thepeachfiles (X):
why did the tsunami alert give zero context. like hi?? WHERE?? WHEN?? is it here?? is it vibing?? is it inn group chat???
@govtflop (X):
this country couldnât organize a fire drill let alone a disaster response. bro we got hacked by a tsunami. a fake one.
REAL CONSEQUENCES, REAL OUTRAGE
Not everyoneâs joking.
Hospitals saw a spike in injuries as people tripped, ran into traffic, or had panic attacks during the chaos. Some nursing homes began full evacuations before being told it was a false alarm.
And for young people, this isnât just a funny TikTok trend. Itâs a brutal reminder of how fragile things really are.
âWe laugh bc otherwise weâd cry,â wrote one Reddit user. âLike we really live in a timeline where fake disasters go viral before real ones even hit.â
AND THE GOVERNMENT? RADIO SILENCE.
It took nearly 45 minutes for anyone official to say âitâs not real.â
Three hours for Ottawa to admit it was a cyberattack.
No word yet on whoâs responsible. No apology. No plan.
Now thereâs a Change.org petition with 100k+ signatures demanding a full public inquiry. Even Gen Z MPs are getting in on it â one called it a ânational clown showâ on livestream.
THE INTERNETâS VERDICT?
âNext time the world ends, Iâll wait for the TikTok to confirm.â
â @softcrashbandicoot
Reporting where the public speaks loudest â online and unfiltered. â Jamie Mora
Public
Reddit Thread Over âInventory Driftâ Surges as Canadians Vent Over Retail Glitches
Vancouver, BC
 A Reddit thread questioning the official narrative behind ongoing grocery and pharmacy supply issues has gained traction online, amassing over 1,200 upvotes in under 24 hours.
Posted to r/Canada by a user under the handle MadeMar, the discussion centers on what retail companies are calling a âdata harmonization conflictâ â a technical explanation cited for phantom shipments, prescription delays, and out-of-sync inventory restocks across several chains.
âI tried to refill a prescription and was told âyour order is in the system but it looks like the medication is still pending in our systemâ What?? How is that a thing?â the post reads.
Commenters expressed skepticism toward official explanations, with some suggesting corporate mismanagement, while others hinted at broader systemic vulnerabilities.
âEveryoneâs blaming LogiSync, but itâs weird how ALL these chains use the same platform. Thatâs a bigger problem than some ghost SKUs,â wrote one user.
The postâs popularity comes amid a week of mounting consumer frustration over spotty availability of critical goods and pharmacy delays. While companies maintain that no breach has occurred and systems remain secure, public sentiment online reflects growing unease.
Retailers have so far avoided direct engagement with the thread, though MapleMart and PharmaNorth have both issued statements reiterating that the issue is ânot security-relatedâ and âpurely operational.â
Reporting where the public speaks loudest â online and unfiltered. â Jamie Mora
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