By AJ Vicens
June 9 (Reuters) - United Natural Foods Inc ( UNFI ) one
of the largest U.S. grocery distributors whose clients include
Whole Foods, took certain systems offline in recent days after
the discovery of unauthorized activity on internal networks, the
company said on Monday.
A Whole Foods spokesperson told Reuters in an email on
Monday that the company was "working to restock our shelves as
quickly as possible" and referred additional questions back to
United Natural.
Shares of United Natural fell more than 8% during Monday's
session and closed down by almost 7% at $25.94.
United Natural, based in Rhode Island, said in a June 9
filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it
"proactively" took some systems offline after becoming aware
June 5 of unauthorized activity on certain networks.
The company said the incident temporarily hurt its "ability
to fulfill and distribute customer orders." It added that the
incident "is expected to continue to cause temporary
disruptions" to its operations.
There have been a spate of cyber incidents affecting major
retailers in the UK and the U.S. recently, including Marks &
Spencer ( MAKSF ), Co-op, Harrods and Victoria's Secret.
United Natural did not specify the "unauthorized activity."
In the past, disruptions that caused companies to take actions
similar to those it described have often been linked to
ransomware incidents, where extortion-minded cybercriminals
disable a firm's computers by encrypting them, promising to
release the decryption key only in exchange for massive
cryptocurrency payments.
United Natural Foods ( UNFI ) is the largest publicly traded
wholesale distributor of "healthier food options" in the U.S.
and Canada, according to its website. In May 2024 the company
announced an eight-year extension to serve as primary
distributor for Amazon ( AMZN )-owned Whole Foods.
The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for
comment.
United Natural Foods ( UNFI ) reported $8.2 billion in net sales in
the 13-week period ending February 1, 2025.
