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Supervalu still getting a handle on summer data breach [Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.](Saint Paul Pioneer Press (MN) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Oct. 16--Two months after disclosing a data breach, Cub Foods still isn't sure if cyberthieves actually stole anything. "Still today, the company has not determined that any of our customers' cardholder data was in fact stolen as a result of that incident," said Sam Duncan, CEO of Cub Foods' corporate parent Supervalu, during the company's quarterly earnings call Thursday. Still, the data breach is having an impact on the national grocery and food distributor. Executives at the Eden Prairie-based company told analysts Thursday they've spent $2 million to deal with the aftershocks, and there are more costs to come. Some Cub Foods stores in the Twin Cities have the unhappy distinction of being hit twice by cybercriminals. The first breach of 41 Cub Foods stores spanned about four weeks in June and July, when Supervalu "experienced a criminal intrusion into the portion of our computer network that processes payment card transactions," Duncan said. The second and much smaller breach was disclosed a month later, when officials discovered malware that was "used to capture data from our customers' payment cards," Duncan said. The second breach was limited to just four Cub stores -- in Roseville, Hastings, White Bear Lake and Shakopee -- "and only at some checkout lanes at those four stores," Duncan said. Supervalu caught that breach early, thanks to rolling out better protective technology. Supervalu CFO Bruce Besanko said that in the quarter, the data-breach cost the company approximately $2 million, "including legal, forensic and customer-notification expenses." Half will be covered by insurance, but "looking forward, we expect to incur additional costs related to the intrusions," Besanko said, and much of that will be covered by insurance, too. Apart from the data breach, Supervalu said Thursday that it continues to make progress regaining its financial health, following a near-death experience a couple years ago. "I feel good about the path that we're on," Duncan said. Companywide, sales rose 1.8 percent to $4.02 billion, exceeding analysts' forecasts. The company's fleet of Save-A-Lot hard discount stores enjoyed a very strong quarter, with sales up 8 percent. Among its supermarkets, led by Cub Foods stores in the Twin Cities, sales rose 0.4 percent. Duncan described that as "somewhat softer than our expectations," but noted the company was again investing in those stores. "You've got to remember, there basically hasn't been much investment made in these retail banners for years, because of the issues the company was facing for a long period of time," Duncan told analysts. "So we've got to play some catch-up." Net earnings were $31 million, down 23 percent from last year. That was a bit short of expectations, sending Supervalu shares lower Thursday. In afternoon trading, Supervalu shares were down 4 percent, or 38 cents, at $8.17. Tom Webb can be reached at 651-228-5428. Follow him at twitter.com/TomWebbMN. ___ (c)2014 the Pioneer Press (St. Paul, Minn.) Visit the Pioneer Press (St. Paul, Minn.) at www.twincities.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |