Whole Foods' distributor hit with cyberattack; stores could see supply issues
A major food distributor that supplies items to Whole Foods and other grocers was hit with a cyberattack that could impact supply at some stores.
North American wholesale distributor United Natural Foods said Monday, June 9 that unauthorized activity in its systems forced it to take some of them offline. Forensics experts and law enforcement are both investigating, the company said in a statement.
"We are assessing the unauthorized activity and working to restore our systems to safely bring them back online. As we work through this issue, our customers, suppliers, and associates are our highest priority. We are working closely with them to minimize disruption as much as possible," the statement reads.
The company said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that the incident "has temporarily impacted the company's ability to fulfill and distribute customer orders" since it was discovered by the company on Thursday, June 5.
A Whole Foods spokesperson said the supermarket chain is working to restock its shelves as quickly as possible and said it apologies for any inconveniences to customers.
One X user visiting a Whole Foods store said the shelves were empty, along with signs apologizing, adding "It reminds me of when the pandemic first hit."
In a Reddit post, one user shared a picture of primarily empty refrigeration shelf with a paper sign attached.
"We are experiencing a temporary out of stock issue for some products," the sign reads. "We apologize for the inconvenience and should have your favorite products back in stock soon."
Grocery and retail businesses across the U.S. and the U.K. have been subject to rising ransomware attacks, according to Keith Wojcieszek, the global head of threat intelligence for risk and financial firm Kroll.
Data exfiltration and ransomware attacks have targeted the retail sector in an effort for bad actors to receive large monetary payouts, according to Kroll. Last month the firm tracked at least 16 ransomware posts targeting retail organizations through extortion efforts.
"The biggest question right now is who's behind the chaos and disruption of these cyberattacks. Unfortunately, it's not an easy one to answer as hackers have become increasingly interchangeable and decentralized, without a clear organizational structure," Wojcieszek said in a statement to USA TODAY.
Wojcieszek added that the retail sector is highly exposed to these attacks because of its reliance on digital systems.
Other U.S. retailers have been targeted recently including Victoria's Secret temporarily shutting down its website due to a security threat and Adidas reportedly falling victim to a third party data breach.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: United Natural Foods cyberattack threatens supply for Whole Foods
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