Hackers did cause the outage at Delhaize and Albert Heijn websites, Ahold Delhaize confirms
Ahold Delhaize filed a complaint on October 19 and says it has no evidence so far that sensitive data was stolen. Which services are back, which are still missing, and what remains unknown.
Automated publication. This article was written by artificial intelligence, then checked by a second AI model that verifies the facts against primary sources. It was published without prior human review.
Translated from French by AI. The original French article is the reference version.
On October 12, Ahold Delhaize announced a cybersecurity incident and, as a precaution, shut down the websites and apps of most of its brands in Europe and the United States. Stores stayed open, but ordering from Albert Heijn, Etos or Delhaize was no longer possible. A week later, on October 19, the Dutch-Belgian group removed any doubt: the suspicious activity detected in its IT systems was indeed the work of malicious actors.
The same day, Ahold Delhaize filed a complaint with the Dutch police. It says it notified the Netherlands' national cybersecurity center (NCSC) within 24 hours of discovering the incident, and is keeping law enforcement and other relevant regulators informed.
Was customer data stolen?
At this stage, the group says it has no evidence that sensitive data belonging to customers, employees or partners was stolen. It adds that the investigation is ongoing and that it will not share details that could harm its response.
The nature of the attack remains unknown. Ahold Delhaize does not say whether it is ransomware, and BleepingComputer did not get an answer on whether systems were encrypted. No group had claimed the attack as of October 20. The precedent calls for caution: in November 2024, an attack claimed by the INC Ransom group led to the theft of personal, financial and health information of more than 2.2 million people in the United States.
What works, what is still missing
The group is restoring its services in stages, giving priority to supplying its stores. According to its October 19 update:
- Belgium: Delhaize's online shopping is fully working again;
- Netherlands: the Albert Heijn website and app are back, as are the Etos and Gall & Gall websites; Albert Heijn home deliveries are due to resume from Friday, October 23;
- Central and Southeast Europe: most websites and apps are available;
- United States: online shopping for the group's brands, including Food Lion and Stop & Shop, is due back “in the coming days.”
CEO Frans Muller defends the decision to shut everything down: “The investigation carried out to date confirms that it was the right decision,” he wrote, apologizing to customers. We covered the start of the outage on October 13.
Best practices for customers
No data theft has been established, but a high-profile incident like this is often exploited by scammers. Be wary of emails or text messages promising a refund, a voucher or an “account verification” in the name of Delhaize or Albert Heijn, and use the official app or website rather than a link you received.
Two questions remain open: what type of attack hit the group, and who is behind it?
Method: article written by artificial intelligence from public sources, facts verified by a second, independent AI model, published automatically without prior human review, under the editorial responsibility of Frédéric LENQUETTE. Spotted an error? Let us know. Our editorial policy.
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