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Albert Heijn cyber incident had not been reported to police

◆1 source

After days of empty shelves and disruption at Albert Heijn, the supermarket chain had not filed a police report over what was described as a cyber incident, hack or serious hacking attempt. Justice had invited parent company Ahold to report the matter, while Ahold was investigating what happened and said it was working with all relevant authorities. The company did not comment on whether it would file a report later.

Ahold had reported the incident to the National Cyber Security Centre under a stricter reporting obligation introduced in August, but this does not replace a police report. Police said a report could help preserve digital traces and investigate whether an attacker remained in the system, while cybersecurity experts said companies may fear that a police investigation could delay the restoration of operations. It was unknown whether police and prosecutors planned to open a criminal investigation themselves.

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Technology & Computing

Recovery from Albert Heijn cybersecurity incident

34 sources

Albert Heijn and parent company Ahold Delhaize continued recovering from a cybersecurity incident that began on Sunday and led the company to take systems offline. The disruption halted or restricted operations at distribution centres, prevented online grocery orders and deliveries, and left some stores with empty shelves, particularly for fresh products. The app, website and customer service remain unavailable, while stores are open and checkout systems work. Ahold Delhaize says it has no evidence that customer, employee or third-party data was stolen, and its investigation into the incident continues. Albert Heijn expects all distribution centres to be operating during Wednesday and says deliveries of longer-lasting products have resumed. Regular fresh-product deliveries have not yet resumed, and product availability may still vary between stores. The company says systems are being restored gradually and carefully. A single report said the Public Prosecution Service invited Albert Heijn to file a formal report; no criminal investigation is currently under way, according to that report.