CHICAGO — Ahold Delhaize supermarket websites went offline this week after 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 it suspended online ordering and grocery deliveries.
The cyberattack caused refrigerators and heaters at supermarkets across France to overheat, 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.
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