Food Lion Faces Nationwide Payment Issues Due to Cybersecurity Attack

Food Lion, a major grocery store chain in the United States, has been affected by a significant cybersecurity issue that has caused widespread disruptions to its operations. The incident, which was detected by Food Lion’s parent company, Ahold Delhaize USA, has resulted in a nationwide payment issue, impacting various services across the company’s network[2].

The cybersecurity issue was identified recently, prompting immediate action from Ahold Delhaize USA’s security teams, who are working with external cybersecurity experts and law enforcement to investigate and resolve the matter. Despite the ongoing issues, all of Ahold Delhaize USA’s brand stores, including Food Lion, Stop & Shop, and Hannaford, remain open and are serving customers.

The impact of the cyberattack is varied, with some stores experiencing delayed deliveries, invoicing issues, and limited payment services. Pharmacy operations and e-commerce services have also been affected, although reports indicate that pharmacy-specific IT issues have been largely resolved. Customers have reported difficulties with Food Lion To Go and Instacart orders, and some have experienced issues with mismatched figures on invoices.

Staff members at various locations have reported using personal hotspots to maintain operations, and there have been concerns raised about potential data breaches, including reports of fraudulent purchases on staff members’ debit cards. However, Ahold Delhaize USA has not confirmed whether any financial data was compromised during the attack.

The incident highlights the significant scale of the impact, given that Food Lion alone operates over 1,000 stores, employs more than 82,000 staff, and serves over 10 million customers weekly[4]).