CHICAGO — Ahold Delhaize supermarket websites were taken offline this week due to a security issue following a cyberattack that targeted hundreds of French supermarkets.
The company’s Stop & Shop, Food Lion, Hannaford, and Giant Food stores in the United States remained open, though online ordering and grocery deliveries were suspended.
The cyberattack caused overheating of refrigerators and heaters at supermarkets across France, sparking fires and food spoilage.
European media reported that hackers forced a continuous defrost cycle and set temperatures as high as 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) on stores’ refrigeration systems.
Zaandam, Netherlands-based Ahold Delhaize said its Albert Heijn, Delhaize, Etos, and Gall & Gall websites were taken offline but that all of its French locations remained open.
The cyberattack also affected French supermarket chains operated by Carrefour and others, including Groupement Mousquetaires, which has more than 4,000 stores across Europe and said 300 of its Intermarché and Netto stores were impacted.
Roland Lescure, France’s finance minister, told Parliament on October 13 that about 700 of the country’s 10,000 supermarkets were affected. He said there was no risk to France’s food supplies. “It was a wake-up call for everyone,” he said
The Paris prosecutor’s office said its cybercrime unit was investigating the attack, according to The Associated Press.
