New England grocery stores, pharmacies impacted by cyber attack

Stop & Shop locations have been the target of a cybersecurity attack, the company said in a press release.

Parent company Ahold Delhaize issued the statement, which said they recently detected a “cybersecurity issue” within their US systems. The company notified law enforcement and began an investigation led by cybersecurity experts, the statement said.

“We will continue to take actions to further protect our systems,” the statement said. “The security of our customers, associates and partners is a top priority.” 

The statement said that all of Ahold Delhaize’s stores in the US remain open, despite the breach. It is unclear when the networks will be back up and running.

What is affected in the attack?

The statement was vague when defining what processes were threatened during the attack. However, the statement said the breach, and efforts to mitigate it, have affected some pharmacies and e-commerce online.

It also seems that product deliveries may arrive later than expected at Stop & Shop locations. A sign inside a Revere Stop & Shop told customers an IT outage was affecting “behind the scenes operations,” WCVB reported. 

Hannaford Supermarkets, which is also owned by Ahold Delhaize, experienced technical issues as well, saying some of their stores and pharmacies were experiencing “network issues.” The statement from Hannaford urged people who need their prescriptions to visit their local pharmacy, as the supermarket’s website was down.

Eva Levin is a general assignment co-op for Boston.com. She covers breaking and local news in Boston and beyond.