Albert Heijn restores website and app a week after cybersecurity incident

Albert Heijn, the largest supermarket chain in the Netherlands, said on Sunday that its website and Mijn AH app were back online for customers, a week after it switched off a number of its IT systems because of what it called a “cybersecurity incident”.

In an update published at 1.20pm Amsterdam time, the company said customers could again use their personal accounts, savings stamps, Air Miles, gift cards and weekly Bonus offers. Ordering groceries online was still not possible.

Albert Heijn said its delivery drivers would “gradually” return to the road from Friday 23 October and that all online orders up to and including Thursday 22 October had been cancelled. Customers who had already paid would be refunded within a few days without needing to take any action, it said. Its customer service line was still unavailable, NOS reported.

“There is currently no indication that personal data is involved in the cybersecurity incident,” the company said, adding that it could not comment on the nature or cause of the incident while its investigation continued. NOS reported that its own sources described the incident as a hacking attack.

Albert Heijn, the chemist chain Etos and the liquor chain Gall & Gall, all owned by Ahold Delhaize, have been affected since the afternoon of Sunday 11 October, according to the company’s statements. The shutdown of logistics systems led to empty shelves in some stores in the first days. Albert Heijn said its stores were again being fully restocked several times a day. NL Times reported that the Etos and Gall & Gall websites were still offline on Sunday.

On Friday, Dutch Justice Minister David van Weel called on the company to file a criminal complaint over the incident, Reuters reported, citing the ANP news agency.