Kroger is latest victim of third-party software data breach

Frank Bajak/AP

Updated: Feb 21, 2021 / 03:47 AM CST

FILE – This June 17, 2014, file photo, shows a Kroger store in Houston. Kroger Co. says it was among the multiple victims of a data breach involving a third-party vendor’s file-transfer service and is notifying potentially impacted customers, offering them free credit monitoring. The Cincinnati-based grocery and pharmacy chain said in a statement Friday, Feb. 19, 2021, that it believes less than 1% of its customers were affected, specifically some using its Health and Money Services, as well as some current and former employees because a number of personnel records were apparently viewed. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)

BOSTON (AP) — Kroger Co. says it was among the multiple victims of a data breach involving a third-party vendor’s file-transfer service and is notifying potentially impacted customers, offering them free credit monitoring.

The Cincinnati-based grocery and pharmacy chain said in a statement Friday that it believes less than 1% of its customers were affected — specifically some using its Health and Money Services — as well as some current and former employees because a number of personnel records were apparently viewed.

Kroger said the breach did not affect Kroger stores’ IT systems or grocery store systems or data and there was no indication that fraud involving accessed personal data had occurred.

The company, which has 2,750 grocery retail stores and 2,200 pharmacies nationwide, did not immediately respond to questions including how many customers might have been affected.

Kroger said it was among victims of the December hack of a file-transfer product called FTA developed by Accellion, a California-based company, and that it was notified of the incident on Jan. 23, when it discontinued use of Accellion’s services. Companies use the file-transfer product to share large amounts of data and hefty email attachments.

Accellion has more than 3,000 customers worldwide. It has said that the affected product was 20 years old and nearing the end of its life. The company said on Feb. 1 that it had patched all known FTA vulnerabilities.

Other Accellion customers affected by the hack include the University of Colorado, Washington State’s auditor, Australia’s financial regulator, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and the prominent U.S. law firm Jones Day.

For Washington State’s auditor, the hack was particuarly serious. Exposed were files on 1.6 million claims obtained in its investigation of massive unemployment fraud last year.

In the case of Jones Day, cybercriminals seeking to extort the law firm dumped an estimated 85 gigabytes of data online they claimed to have stolen.

Former President Donald Trump is among Jones Day clients but the criminals told The Associated Press via email that none of the data was related to him.