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Ace Hardware’s weeklong cyberattack is a past incident, not a current outage: the company said its systems and Retail Support Centers were restored by November 5, 2023. The disruption began October 29 and affected central operations, online orders and shipments. Reports at the time said stores were urged to remain open and local checkout systems were reportedly unaffected.
What happened in the Ace Hardware cyberattack?
Ace reported a cybersecurity incident beginning October 29, 2023. Contemporary coverage described interruptions to central operating systems that support retailers and customers. The incident disrupted shipments, and Ace suspended online ordering while it worked to restore systems.
Dark Reading reported on November 3, 2023, that 196 servers and more than 1,000 network devices were affected. The publication said Ace had about 1,400 servers and 3,500 networked devices overall; at the time of its report, 51% of affected servers had been restored. These are figures reported by Dark Reading, not independently audited totals. Dark Reading’s November 3 report detailed the scope then known.
Which services were disrupted?
Reports identified a mix of retailer-facing, logistics and customer services affected by the interruption to central systems:
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- Retailer operations: ACENET, warehouse management, Ace Retailer Mobile Assistant (ARMA), Hot Sheets and invoices.
- Customer services: Ace Rewards and the Care Center phone system.
- Orders and fulfillment: Online ordering was suspended during restoration, and shipments were delayed or disrupted.
SecurityWeek’s November 3, 2023 coverage reported that Ace had not identified the attack type or disclosed whether customer information was compromised.
Were Ace stores open, and could customers pay?
Contemporary reports said Ace urged stores to stay open and that local point-of-sale systems and card processing were reportedly unaffected. That did not mean every service was operating normally: the central ordering and supply disruption could still affect product availability, deliveries and online purchases. These details describe the reported conditions during the 2023 incident, not current store or service status. Dark Reading and SecurityWeek described those effects at the time.
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Was customer information stolen?
The reviewed November 3, 2023 coverage did not establish whether customer information was compromised. SecurityWeek reported that Ace had not shared whether data was affected or specified the kind of cyberattack. The available reporting also does not confirm an attacker, ransomware, or customer-data theft. It would be inaccurate to treat any of those possibilities as established fact.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.When did Ace report recovery?
On November 5, 2023, Ace told vendors that its systems and Retail Support Centers had been restored and that the company was fully operational, according to HBS Dealer. That is the reported recovery milestone for this incident; it is not an assessment of Ace’s cybersecurity today.
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In a November 3 update, Hardware Retailing attributed a comment on Ace’s contingency plan to President and CEO John Venhuizen: “We had a few bumps in the night that we are muscling through, but this plan is very much in flight.” On November 5, HBS Dealer quoted Ace SVP of Merchandising Brian Wiborg: “It has been a very challenging week for everyone, but all systems are go and we are ready to get back to serving our retailers with the excellence they have come to expect.” Hardware Retailing’s November 3 report and HBS Dealer’s November 5 report published those statements.
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