Supermarket chains in the U.S. affected by a cyber breach at a major food company.
Ahold Delhaize has fallen victim to a cyberattack, leading to the disruption of some sections of its infrastructure.
Ahold Delhaize has confirmed that it was the victim of a cyberattack that forced the company to suspend certain parts of its technological infrastructure. This incident has impacted the proper functioning of several of its grocery and pharmacy stores, primarily in the United States.
In a statement, the company reported that it recently detected a cybersecurity issue in its U.S. network. In response, it engaged external experts for assistance, notified the authorities, and disconnected its network as a precautionary measure. Ahold Delhaize operates various supermarket chains, convenience stores, and e-commerce businesses in Europe and the United States, including Food Lion, Stop & Shop, and Giant.
The company stated that this incident and the actions taken to mitigate its effects have impacted certain brands and services of Ahold Delhaize USA, including several pharmacies and e-commerce operations. Despite the situation, all stores remain open and serving customers, and the company has declared that its priority is the safety of its customers, employees, and partners.
According to a report, the difficulties faced by retailers in the United States have been occurring over the past week, leading several employees to express their frustration on social media. However, the impact has not been uniform across all stores; for example, at one point, Stop & Shop's pharmacy was unable to refill prescriptions, and the situation was complicated by issues with phone lines. On the other hand, Food Lion had to manage missing and delayed deliveries, while delivery dates for Instacart orders were constantly postponed.
As for more details, there is little information available at this time, and it has been reported that employees should not discuss the incident with the press. Generally, when a company disconnects its systems, it is to prevent them from being encrypted or for attackers to extract information, which typically occurs in a ransomware attack.
