Ganong Bros. chocolate plant disrupted by ransomware attack claimed by Play

Ganong Bros. Ltd., the family-owned candy and chocolate maker in St. Stephen, New Brunswick, confirmed in March 2025 that it had been hit by an IT security incident discovered on February 22. The company, whose brands include Chicken Bones, Pal-O-Mine and Delecto, said some of its systems were affected and that operations at the St. Stephen plant were temporarily disrupted.

In a statement, Ganong said it immediately undertook countermeasures to protect its network and data, and retained outside cybersecurity specialists and external legal counsel to handle containment, remediation and a forensic investigation. Affected operations had returned to normal by the time the incident became public.

The Play ransomware group, widely assessed as Russia-linked, posted Ganong on its dark web leak site along with a screenshot said to show internal communications and other stolen material. Acadia Broadcasting reported the listing. The company's director of public relations declined to say whether the incident was ransomware or whether a ransom was demanded or paid.

Ganong said its investigation into what data had been taken was still under way and that it would notify individuals directly under applicable privacy laws if personal information turned out to be involved. The Telegraph Journal reported that the RCMP was unaware of the incident and had not been asked to investigate.