Major Grocery Store Parent Company Affected in ‘Cybersecurity Issue’

When you think of businesses that are prime targets for hackers, you don’t think of your local grocery. As it happens, major grocery stores in the Northeast are dealing with a cybersecurity incident. Ahold Delhize USA, which owns Stop & Shop and Hannaford stores, says that some of its pharmacy and e-commerce services were impacted by cybersecurity-related problems.

That has affected customers in certain grocery store locations. For example, customers at multiple Hannaford stores in Maine could not use debit cards or gift cards to make their purchases. Customers looking for information online could not access Hannaford’s website as recently as Monday.

Stop & Shop’s website, on the other hand, was active: Through it, Ahold Delhaize USA made a statement, explaining the situation and what steps had been taken: The company says they detected the cybersecurity issue on November 8, and began investigating with security experts immediately. The company also contacted law enforcement. Ahold Delhize USA says they intentionally took certain systems offline in order to protect them.

A location in Revere, MA put up signs warning customers about potential outages and product delays. That said, all stores should remain open during this time.