Cyberattack Cripples North America's Largest Grocery Distributor, Threatening Supply Chain
fliptop writes:
UNFI, North America's largest grocery distributor, halted deliveries after a cyberattack disrupted operations for 30,000 retail locations:
United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI), North America's largest grocery distributor and the primary supplier for Whole Foods Market, has been forced to halt deliveries and take systems offline after a crippling cyberattack. The breach, discovered in early June, has disrupted operations across its network of 30,000 retail locations, raising alarms about the vulnerability of the nation's food supply chain to digital threats.
The Rhode Island-based company confirmed in a June 9 regulatory filing that unauthorized access to its IT systems triggered emergency protocols, including shutting down critical infrastructure. "The incident has caused, and is expected to continue to cause, temporary disruptions to the Company's business operations," UNFI stated, adding that it is working with law enforcement and cybersecurity experts to restore functionality.
UNFI's outage has left grocery retailers scrambling. Steve Schwartz, director of sales for New York's Morton Williams chain, told The New York Post, "It's bringing the company to a standstill with no orders generated and no orders coming in." The chain relies on UNFI for staples like dairy products and bottled waters, forcing it to seek alternative suppliers. Smaller businesses, like bakeries dependent on UNFI deliveries, face even steeper challenges.
[...] UNFI insists it has implemented "temporary workarounds" to mitigate customer disruptions, but the timeline for full recovery remains unclear. The company's stock fell 8.5% following the announcement, reflecting investor unease.
Also at CNN, TechCrunch and Bloomberg.
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