News and Events 
Aflac, one of the largest American insurance companies, reported that cybercriminals breached its systems on June 20, 2025. Suspicious activity first occurred on Aflac’s U.S. network
2 min read
Published on June 11, 2025
On June 9, 2025, United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI) – a major organic food distributor and the main grocery supplier for Whole Foods Market – reported a cyber attack. UNFI first discovered unauthorized activity in its IT systems on June 5 and immediately took some systems offline. At the time of this writing, the investigation is ongoing as officials assess the full impact of the breach.
What you should know about the UNFI cyber attack
- UNFI stock shares have dropped at least 8% since the report was first released.
- UNFI trucks have been unable to make delivery runs to Whole Foods and other grocery partners, leaving many supermarket shelves empty.
- Retailers have contacted other distributors to supply critical items like baking, frozen and dairy products.
- Over 30,000 locations across North America are expected to experience supply disruptions, especially in fresh produce and branded products.
The impact of the UNFI cyber attack
The UNFI cyber attack highlights how cybercriminals target critical infrastructure and high-traffic organizations to cause maximum disruption and financial gain. The food distribution supply chain is particularly vulnerable to these attacks, as it relies on interconnected critical systems and large amounts of sensitive data. While the full extent of this cyber attack is currently unclear, it has already disrupted access to essential goods, impacted store operations and exposed vulnerabilities in the industry’s cybersecurity defenses.
What the food distribution industry can learn from the UNFI cyber attack
Although the UNFI cyber attack is still being investigated, it has already disrupted critical operations for Whole Foods and other large food distributors in North America. For industry professionals, this cyber attack highlights key areas where organizations must improve their cybersecurity defenses across the supply chain.
The risks of relying on digital operations
Modern food distributors rely on integrated software systems for logistics, inventory management and route planning. When these systems are compromised, as they were for UNFI, operations can come to a complete standstill. The UNFI cyberattack underscores the food distribution industry’s reliance on digital operations and the swift consequences of a cyberattack, including canceled online orders, delayed food deliveries and reputational damage. Organizations must regularly audit their digital environments by backing up their sensitive data and protecting their most critical platforms to prevent security breaches.
The vulnerabilities of supply chains
As UNFI’s cyber attack directly affects Whole Foods, any security gap in the food distribution industry can impact the entire supply chain. Food distributors generally work with numerous vendors who have access to critical systems or sensitive data. Organizations can face severe consequences if their vendors lack strong security measures. The UNFI cyber attack highlights how important it is to conduct third-party risk assessments and set high cybersecurity standards in contracts with vendors.
The importance of incident response plans
UNFI’s ability to respond quickly and communicate clearly with consumers and retailers about the cyber attack is an indication that they had a strong incident response plan in place. Having an updated incident response plan with predefined roles, communication protocols and recovery steps significantly weakens the severity of a cyber attack and helps preserve trust. An organization’s incident response plan should also include strategies for notifying customers and partners. Preparing for a cyber attack ensures that every team member knows what to do if a security breach happens.
Protect your company from cyber attacks
The UNFI cyber attack is a reminder that no industry is immune to cyber threats, including food distribution. UNFI’s cyber attack disrupted its operations, as well as those of major retailers like Whole Foods. For businesses across the food supply chain, this cyber attack highlights the need to strengthen security measures and vet third-party vendors more thoroughly. With KeeperPAM®, your organization can protect credentials, manage privileged access and reduce the risk of security breaches through its zero-trust and zero-knowledge security.
Request a demo of KeeperPAM to protect your organization’s most critical data.
