Ahold Delhaize Cyberattack Affected More Than U.S. Network
As reported last year, Ahold Delhaize USA detected a cybersecurity issue within its U.S. network. The company immediately launched an investigation with its security teams and the assistance of external cybersecurity experts. Law enforcement was also notified. Based on its investigation, the company recently confirmed that certain files were taken from some of its internal U.S. business systems.
Additionally, on April 22, Ahold Delhaize released an updated statement regarding its review of the impacted files. “Based on this review, we recently learned that certain Dutch employment data may have been contained in the affected files. We have notified the Dutch Data Protection Authority,” read the statement. “The security of our customers, associates and partners is a top priority. We are continuing to evaluate the impact to our data in connection with this cybersecurity issue, and we will notify affected individuals in accordance with our legal obligations.”
While the file review is still ongoing, the company does have an idea who is affected. Impacted associates are likely those who were working for Ahold Delhaize Group, Ahold Delhaize Europe & Indonesia, Albert Heijn, Etos, Gall & Gall, and the Ahold Delhaize Coffee Co. in the Netherlands and who were on the payroll in April 2021.
At this time, the company has no evidence that bol associates, or employees of franchisees of Albert Heijn, Etos, or Gall & Gall have been affected. It also doesn’t have evidence that customer information from Albert Heijn, Etos, Gall & Gall, and bol were impacted.
Zaandam, Netherlands-based Ahold Delhaize is one of the world’s largest food retail groups. The company’s family of local brands serves 63 million customers each week, both in stores and online, in the United States, Europe and Indonesia. Together, these brands employ more than 402,000 associates in 7,716 grocery and specialty stores. The Ahold Delhaize USA division is No. 11 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2024 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America. PG also named the company one of its Retailers of the Century and 10 Most Sustainable Grocers.
