Ahold Delhaize says a cyberattack disrupted services in Europe and the US
October 12, 2026
The parent company of Food Lion, Stop & Shop and Hannaford said in mid-October it was dealing with a cybersecurity issue and took some systems offline, including brand websites and apps, while stores stayed open. On October 20 it confirmed the incident also disrupted services at stores across Europe and said it had filed a police report with the Dutch police. Belgian e-commerce was fully operational again, and US e-commerce was expected back in the coming days. Unfulfilled online orders were refunded. The company says the incident was caused by the malicious actions of others, but public reporting does not name an attacker or say whether systems were encrypted. It is the second major attack on the group since a November 2024 breach that exposed data on about 2.2 million people.
Why it matters
Retail groups depend on shared back-end systems, so a precautionary shutdown can disrupt many brands at once.
What defenders can take from it
- Practice running the business with e-commerce and shared systems offline, and decide in advance who can order a shutdown.