Ahold Delhaize Data Breach Affects Over 2 Million People
Ahold Delhaize USA Services, LLC, recently provided an update about the cybersecurity issue that was previously disclosed last year. Ahold Delhaize USA Services provides support services to Ahold Delhaize USA companies, including Food Lion, Giant Food, The Giant Co., Hannaford, Stop & Shop, ADUSA Distribution and ADUSA Transportation.
On Nov. 6, 2024, Ahold Delhaize USA Services detected a cybersecurity issue involving unauthorized access to some of its internal U.S. business systems. The company immediately launched an investigation with the assistance of external cybersecurity experts, coordinated with U.S. federal law enforcement and began taking steps to contain the issue. Based on its investigation, the company identified that an unauthorized third party obtained certain files from one of its internal U.S. file repositories between Nov. 5 and 6, 2024.
Ahold Delhaize USA Services has now learned that some of the impacted files may have contained the personal information of 2.2 million individuals. Personal information can include name, contact information (for example, postal and email address and telephone number), date of birth, government-issued identification numbers (for example, Social Security, passport and driver’s license numbers), financial account information (for example, bank account number), health information (for example, workers’ compensation information and medical information contained in employment records), and employment-related information. According to the company, the types of impacted information vary by affected individual.
Ahold Delhaize is directly notifying affected individuals to make them aware their information may have been compromised. The company is offering complimentary credit monitoring and identity protection services for two years to these individuals.
Additionally, it was learned that the cyberattack impacted more than Ahold Delhaize’s U.S. network. According to a April 22 company statement, Dutch employment data may also have been compromised. Impacted associates are likely those who were working for Ahold Delhaize Group, Ahold Delhaize Europe & Indonesia, Albert Heijn, Etos, Gall & Gall, and the Ahold Delhaize Coffee Co. in the Netherlands and who were on the payroll in April 2021.
According to Cybernews, the ransomware group INC Ransom is taking credit for the November cyberattack on Ahold Delhaize’s network.
"The INC ransomware group may not be the most well-known but has been involved in some other noteworthy attacks in the past, including the Alder Hey children’s hospital attack in Liverpool and the Scottish health board, both in 2024. This group is thought to be Russian and may be state sanctioned," commented Erich Kron, security awareness advocate at Florida-based KnowBe4. "The information stolen poses a significant threat to the victims, as the information is more than enough to steal identities and be used in future social engineering attacks. The fact that it impacts 2.2 million people is an issue as well. Victims need to keep an eye on their credit reports and look out for new lines of credit opened in their name, or better yet, lock the credit reports.
"Organizations should reflect on attacks such as this and ensure that they are doing everything they can to avoid ransomware attacks,” he continued. “This includes having a comprehensive human risk management program in place that addresses not only educating employees about phishing attacks, the number one way attacks start, but also ensuring data leakage prevention controls are in place and tested."
Parent company Ahold Delhaize is one of the world’s largest food retail groups. The Zaandam, Netherlands-based company’s family of local brands serves 63 million customers each week, both in stores and online, in the United States, Europe and Indonesia. Together, these brands employ more than 402,000 associates in 7,716 grocery and specialty stores. The Ahold Delhaize USA division is No. 11 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2025 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America. PG also named the company one of its Retailers of the Century and among the 10 Most Sustainable Grocers of 2025.
