Cyberattack on food distributor leaves half of North Dakota grocery stores short on supplies

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Nearly half of North Dakota’s grocery stores are experiencing supply shortages after a cyberattack hit major distributor United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI) on June 5th. About 60 of the state’s 138 grocery stores rely on UNFI’s distribution network, which shut down parts of its system after discovering unauthorized access. Stores are struggling to fill orders, with potential milk and perishable shortages expected over the next week or two. Smaller, rural stores are hardest hit as larger stores get priority for limited deliveries. UNFI is trying to fulfill orders by hand and hopes to restart systems by June 15th.  Vulnerabilities in rural food security are now evident, yet another issue for already-struggling small grocery stores.