Science & TechCybersecurity
Cyber incident knocks Ahold Delhaize systems offline in Europe and the US
The grocery group behind Albert Heijn, Delhaize, Food Lion and Stop & Shop shut down systems to contain a security breach. Stores stay open, but online orders and loyalty schemes have stopped.
Key points
- Ahold Delhaize took systems offline after a security issue within its network began on Sunday.
- Albert Heijn halted online orders and warned of gaps on shelves, especially fresh produce.
- The company has not said who is behind it or whether customer data was taken.
Ahold Delhaize, one of the world’s biggest grocery groups, has taken parts of its computer network offline after what it calls a cybersecurity incident, disrupting online shopping, deliveries and loyalty schemes for millions of customers in the Netherlands, Belgium and the United States.
The trouble began on Sunday. By Monday the Dutch-Belgian company confirmed it was “experiencing a security issue within its network” and said its teams were working to contain it.
“Our teams are taking steps to assess and mitigate the issue. This includes taking some systems offline to help protect them,” the company said, adding that its stores remained open. “Protecting our infrastructure in the best interest of our customers, associates, and partners is a top priority.”
Shops open, shelves at risk
The hardest hit so far is Albert Heijn, the group’s Dutch supermarket chain. Its website, app and customer phone line went dark, online orders stopped, and the Bonus loyalty card and personal discounts stopped working. Its sister brands Etos, a drugstore chain, and Gall & Gall, which sells liquor, also cannot take online orders.
Work stopped at several Albert Heijn distribution centres. In a message to suppliers, the chain asked them to deliver only to its Zaandam centre and to book time slots in advance, “so that we can keep the flow of goods manageable”.
“Product availability will vary by store in the coming days, depending on deliveries,” Albert Heijn told customers. Fresh produce is most at risk; long-life goods, it said, “remain reasonably available in most cases”. Electronic shelf labels may still show last week’s offers, though tills charge current prices. Customers who miss discounts will be compensated later.
“We cannot yet indicate when our services will be available again,” the chain said.
Across the Atlantic
The disruption reached the group’s American chains too. Food Lion staff were told in an internal memo that stores “may be unable to shop, stage, or hand off orders”, and some Stop & Shop employees said they had trouble reaching their schedules and pay slips. In Belgium, Delhaize cannot take new orders this week.
Ahold Delhaize runs more than 9,400 stores in Europe, the US and Indonesia, employs nearly 4 lakh people and serves about 60 million customers a week. Its shares closed at €31.38 in Amsterdam on Monday, 3.15% below where they opened.
What is not known
The company has not said what kind of attack it faces, who is behind it, or whether any customer or employee data has been stolen. No group has publicly claimed responsibility.
Taking systems offline quickly can stop an attack spreading. When British retailers Marks & Spencer and Co-op were hit in 2025, Co-op reportedly kept ransomware from being deployed by doing just that. “The short-term pain of a planned shutdown is almost always preferable to an uncontrolled one,” said Muhammad Yahya Patel, a cybersecurity adviser at Huntress.
This is not the group’s first breach. In November 2024, the INC Ransom gang stole personal, financial and health data of more than 22 lakh people from Ahold Delhaize’s US systems.