Major food chain apologizes to shoppers as CEO speaks out about empty shelves

GROCERY stores across the country have limited stock available after a major cyberattack.

Whole Foods and others have been impacted and supplies have remained limited.

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The disruption began with the hack of a wholesale food distributor, United Natural Foods, on June 5.

The unauthorized activity to some IT systems has since delayed some food distribution from UNF to its customers, like Whole Foods.

In a statement to USA Today, a Whole Foods spokesperson apologized for the disruption. The outlet reported that some shoppers were finding partly empty shelves.

Shortages were reported at some IGA grocery stores as well.

HACKED UP

UNF executives said the company quickly activated an incident response plan after it discovered the unauthorized access, but as of an earnings call on June 10, disruption was ongoing.

“Pursuant to our business continuity plans, we have implemented workarounds for certain operations in order to continue servicing our customers where possible, and we’re continuing to safely bring our systems back online and restore broad-based customer service as soon as possible,” UNF CEO and Director Sandy Douglas said.

The company was still delivering its goods, but on a “limited basis,” he said.

Some accounts were more heavily disrupted than others, though it was not immediately clear which UNF customers were impacted. 

“Some are further along on the recovery than others, but we are partnering with customers across the country and across our formats in various short-term modes to serve their needs as best as we possibly can and it’s getting increasingly positive each day,” Douglas said. 

“But still work in progress,” he added.

He also said the company is working with the FBI to investigate the incident.

Douglas declined to comment on approximately what percentage of customers were impacted.

“Each day is better, and we’re working in a very customized way by market and by customer to serve the capability that exists,” he said.

CYBER CRIME

The U.S. Sun has tracked many cyber attacks around the world.

As hacking has become more common, it’s not unusual for disruption to impact consumers.

A recent cyber attack on Christie’s has pushed the company to pay out $990,000.

The attack led to a class action settlement.

If you qualify, you could get up to $10,100 from the agreement.

Some are getting checks due to the fallout from a 2021 cyber attack.

A recent scam features the promise of discounts at the DMV.

A parking meter scam could be skimming your info.