A cyberattack last week forced Ahold Delhaize, among the world's largest grocery retailers, to take multiple systems offline, disrupting digital services at store locations throughout Europe and North America.
The incident prevented customers from accessing websites, mobile applications, and customer support channels for Albert Heijn, Etos, and Gall & Gall in the Netherlands, as well as Delhaize in Belgium. Separately, workers at Stop & Shop, the company's American regional chain, experienced disruptions when trying to view work schedules and compensation information.
According to a Monday statement from the company, the forced system shutdowns affected e-commerce platforms and related services, though brick-and-mortar locations continued normal operations. The company noted that most store websites and applications in Central and Southeastern Europe have since returned to service.
Ahold Delhaize provided the following restoration timeline: "Albert Heijn's website and app are back online, with home deliveries expected to resume from Friday, October 23. The Etos and Gall & Gall websites are also available for customers. E-commerce services at our Ahold Delhaize USA brands are expected to come back in the coming days. In Belgium, e-commerce is now fully operational."
The company disclosed that it informed the Dutch National Cyber Security Centre within one day of detecting the malicious activity and has maintained ongoing communication with that agency, law enforcement, and other regulatory bodies. Ahold Delhaize subsequently filed a formal report with Dutch police authorities.
The retailer declined to release additional specifics that might hinder response operations or weaken security protections. However, the company stated that its investigation has not yet uncovered any evidence indicating that customer data, employee information, or partner details were compromised.
Although this incident was caused by the malicious actions of others, we apologize for the inconvenience this has caused - especially to our customers
Frans Muller, President and CEO of Ahold Delhaize
This marks the second significant cyberattack targeting Ahold Delhaize in recent years. In November 2024, the ransomware group INC Ransom claimed responsibility for stealing personal, financial, and health data belonging to more than 2.2 million individuals from the company's United States infrastructure.
The multinational operation spans more than 9,551 locations across the United States, Europe, and Indonesia, employing over 384,000 staff members and serving approximately 77 million customers weekly.