Accellion Security Incident Impacts Kroger Family of Companies Associates and Limited Number of Customers

Rhea-AI Summary

The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) confirmed a data security incident involving Accellion, Inc., affecting certain files accessed through their services. Kroger reported that less than 1% of customers, primarily from Kroger Health and Money Services, were impacted, with no credit card or password data compromised. Following the breach, Kroger terminated its use of Accellion, notified federal law enforcement, and began an investigation. Affected individuals will be offered free credit monitoring.

Positive

• Less than 1% of customers affected by the incident.
• No compromise of sensitive financial information.
• Proactive response by offering free credit monitoring.

Negative

• Incident may damage customer trust.
• Potential reputational risk stemming from the data breach.

CINCINNATI, Feb. 19, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) Family of Companies today confirmed that it was impacted by the data security incident affecting Accellion, Inc. Accellion's services were used by Kroger, as well as many other companies, for third-party secure file transfers. Accellion notified Kroger that an unauthorized person gained access to certain Kroger files by exploiting a vulnerability in Accellion's file transfer service.

The incident was isolated to Accellion's services and did not affect the Kroger Family of Companies' IT systems or any grocery store systems or data. No credit or debit card information or customer account passwords were affected by this incident. After being informed of the incident's effect on January 23, 2021, Kroger discontinued the use of Accellion's services, reported the incident to federal law enforcement, and initiated its own forensic investigation to review the potential scope and impact of the incident.

At this time, based on the information provided by Accellion and its own investigation, Kroger believes that less than 1% of its customers, specifically customers of Kroger Health and Money Services, have been impacted. In addition, current and certain former associates will be notified that certain HR records have been impacted.

Protecting data is a priority for the Kroger Family of Companies and it is directly contacting all customers and associates who may have been affected to inform them of the incident. While Kroger has no indication of fraud or misuse of personal information as a result of this incident, out of an abundance of caution Kroger has arranged to offer credit monitoring to all affected individuals at no cost to them.

Additional information and future updates can be found at www.Kroger.com/AccellionIncident.

About The Kroger Co.:
At The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), we are Fresh for Everyone™ and dedicated to our Purpose: To Feed the Human Spirit®. We are, across our family of companies, nearly half a million associates who serve over 60 million customers through a seamless shopping experience under a variety of banner names. We are committed to creating #ZeroHungerZeroWaste communities by 2025. To learn more about us, visit our newsroom and investor relations site.

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SOURCE The Kroger Co.

FAQ

What data security incident affected Kroger on February 19, 2021?

Kroger was impacted by a data security incident involving Accellion, where unauthorized access to certain files was confirmed.

How many customers were affected by the Kroger data breach?

According to Kroger, less than 1% of its customers were impacted, primarily those using Kroger Health and Money Services.

What steps did Kroger take after the data breach?

Kroger discontinued the use of Accellion's services, notified federal law enforcement, and began its own investigation into the incident.

Was any sensitive customer information compromised in the Kroger incident?

No credit or debit card information, nor customer passwords, were affected by the incident.

What assistance is Kroger offering to those affected by the breach?

Kroger is offering free credit monitoring to all individuals impacted by the data incident.