CONFIRMED: Ahold Delhaize and its Dutch chains Albert Heijn, Etos and Gall & Gall confirmed the incident on 12 October 2026. Stores are open. Effects at US chains Stop & Shop and Food Lion are REPORTED by BleepingComputer. No one has said what caused the incident, and there is no confirmation of ransomware or data theft.
Supermarket group Ahold Delhaize said on 12 October 2026 that it is dealing with a security issue on its network and has taken some systems offline [1].
What Ahold Delhaize says
“Ahold Delhaize is experiencing a security issue within its network. Our teams are taking steps to assess and mitigate the issue. This includes taking some systems offline to help protect them. At this time, our stores are open and serving customers,” the company said in a statement from Zaandam, the Netherlands [1].
“We apologize for any inconvenience this issue may have caused customers and partners,” it added [1]. The company marked the statement as inside information under EU market-abuse rules, meaning it was disclosed as potentially price-sensitive [1].
Albert Heijn, Etos and Gall & Gall
In a media statement, Albert Heijn, Etos and Gall & Gall said they have been dealing with a cybersecurity incident since Sunday afternoon and switched off a number of systems temporarily as a precaution [2]. As a result, their websites, apps and customer service are temporarily unavailable [2]. (Quotes from the Dutch statement are TSN translations.)
In an update at 17:20 Amsterdam time on 12 October, Albert Heijn said it cannot currently deliver groceries ordered online and customers cannot place orders. It said it had to cancel all online orders already placed “until further notice”, and will compensate customers who had already paid once its systems work again [2].
Stores remain open and tills work for payments [2]. The general Bonus card works, but personal discounts and savings schemes, including Koopzegels and Air Miles, are not available for now [2]. Earlier, the company said last week’s promotional prices were still showing on electronic shelf labels, so the shelf price could be lower than the till price [2]. It expects product availability to vary by store over the coming days, with frozen, bread and long-life products likely to be better stocked than some fresh produce [2].
“We cannot yet say when our services will be available again,” Albert Heijn said in its 11:30 update [2].
Delhaize in Belgium
Belgian broadcaster VRT reported that Delhaize has also taken steps to protect its IT systems. Delhaize told VRT that “All our shops in Belgium and Luxembourg remain open”, that customers cannot place orders for this week for the time being, and that customer services are temporarily unavailable, though its app and website remain accessible [3].
Reported effects in the US
BleepingComputer reported that employees at Stop & Shop, an Ahold Delhaize chain in the US, are having trouble accessing their schedules and pay stubs [4]. It also reported an internal memo, shared by Food Lion employees, which told staff their “store may be unable to shop, stage, or hand off orders” [4]. TSN has not seen the memo.
What is not known
- What caused the incident. Ahold Delhaize has not said.
- Whether any customer, employee or partner data was accessed. VRT notes it is unclear whether customer data has leaked [3].
- When services will be restored.
BleepingComputer asked Ahold Delhaize whether any devices were encrypted; a spokesperson was not immediately available [4]. BleepingComputer notes that a separate November 2024 ransomware attack on the company’s US systems, claimed by the INC Ransom group, exposed data on more than 2.2 million people [4].
Sources
- Ahold Delhaize, “Ahold Delhaize takes precautionary measures following cybersecurity incident”, 12 October 2026. https://newsroom.aholddelhaize.com/ahold-delhaize-takes-precautionary-measures-following-cybersecurity-incident/
- Albert Heijn, Etos and Gall & Gall, “Mediastatement inzake cybersecurity incident”, 12 October 2026 (updates 11:30 and 17:20 CEST). https://nieuws.ah.nl/mediastatement-inzake-it-incident/
- VRT NWS, “Supermarket chains Albert Heijn and Delhaize hit by IT woes”, 12 October 2026. https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/en/2026/10/12/supermarket-chain-albert-heijn-hit-by-it-woes/
- BleepingComputer (Sergiu Gatlan), “Retail giant Ahold Delhaize takes systems offline after cyberattack”, 12 October 2026. https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/retail-giant-ahold-delhaize-takes-systems-offline-after-cyberattack/
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