Image by iStrfry Marcus, from Unsplash
Hackers Hit UNFI, Major Food Distributor For Whole Foods And US Military
- Written by Kiara Fabbri Former Tech News Writer
- Fact-Checked by Sarah Frazier Former Content Manager
United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI), which operates as the main supplier for Whole Foods and U.S. military commissaries, has confirmed cyberattack that caused operational disruptions, and system shutdowns.
In a rush? Here are the quick facts:
- UNFI took systems offline and launched investigation.
- Company warns disruptions are ongoing, timeline unclear.
- Experts say the attack exposes weak food supply chain protections.
The company announced through a regulatory filing that it discovered unauthorized network activity on June 5, before taking steps to shut down parts of its network.
“The incident has caused, and is expected to continue to cause, temporary disruptions to the Company’s business operations,” the company said.
UNFI, based in Providence, Rhode Island, is the largest full-service grocery distributor across North America. The company delivers products to more than 30,000 stores across the U.S. and Canada while serving Whole Foods and all four U.S. military retail exchanges, as reported by TechCrunch .
A spokesperson, Kristen Jimenez, told TechCrunch, “We are assessing the unauthorized activity and working to restore our systems to safely bring them back online.” She confirmed that law enforcement has been notified but did not comment on whether ransomware was involved.
The company maintains temporary operational solutions to serve customers, however, the service interruptions persist. Whole Foods told Reuters they’re “working to restock our shelves as quickly as possible.”
Experts warn the attack highlights vulnerabilities in the food distribution sector. Dr. Darren Williams of BlackFog said, “When attackers infiltrate backend systems, they can paralyze operations […] disrupt critical logistics and jeopardize timely food access for millions,” as reported by Cybernews
Nick Tausek of Swimlane added, “Downtime isn’t solely an operational inconvenience; it’s a race against spoilage, revenue and reputation loss,” as reported by Cybernews
The company has hired external cybersecurity specialists to investigate the incident. The company has not established a timeline for achieving full recovery, as noted by TechCrunch.
Major retailers including Marks & Spencer and Harrods in the UK have become recent targets of cyberattacks, as hackers increasingly target the supply chains that keep shelves stocked, as noted by TechCrunch.
Image by Wei Yu, from Unsplash
AI Tools Disabled Across China To Keep Students From Cheating During Exams
- Written by Kiara Fabbri Former Tech News Writer
- Fact-Checked by Sarah Frazier Former Content Manager
The Chinese AI tools, Alibaba’s Qwen and Tencent’s Yuanbao, disabled their photo recognition features as a temporary measure to prevent students from cheating during the national gaokao college entrance exams.
In a rush? Here are the quick facts:
- China’s gaokao exams run from June 7 to 10 this year.
- AI tools like Qwen and Yuanbao disabled photo features during exams.
- Chatbots blocked image recognition to prevent student cheating.
Some of China’s most popular AI tools, including Alibaba’s Qwen and Tencent’s Yuanbao, have temporarily shut down key features, as first reported by Bloomberg . These features include photo recognition to stop students from cheating during the country’s high-stakes college entrance exams, known as the gaokao.
The gaokao, which takes place from June 7 to June 10, stands as the most crucial examination for Chinese students throughout their academic journey. The annual test attracts 13.4 million students, noted Bloomberg.
The exam determines whether a teenager will secure admission to a prestigious university or must spend another year in high school. The gaokao represents the sole opportunity for numerous students from small towns and low-income families to move forward in their lives, says Bloomberg.
The photo-scanning functions of Tencent’s Yuanbao and Moonshot’s Kimi became unavailable to users during examination periods. Bloomberg reports that when users tried to access them, the chatbots replied: “To ensure the fairness of the college entrance examinations, this function cannot be used during the test period.”
The photo-scanning feature of Alibaba’s Qwen remained accessible to users, yet the system refused to process test images during examination hours. ByteDance’s chatbot Doubao responded to a photo of an exam by saying the image was “not in compliance with rules,” as reported by Bloomberg.
The government has implemented more stringent regulations to monitor the exams. Students are prohibited from bringing phones and devices into exam halls where the gaokao takes place, says Bloomberg. The recent rise of AI tools, which solve complex problems from images, has created fresh concerns about digital cheating.
Bloomberg reports that the Chinese education ministry issued a warning to schools in May about preventing students from using AI-generated content in their homework assignments and tests. Bloomberg notes authorities simultaneously promoted the development of AI competencies among young students.
The Chinese examination process operates differently from the American system, which uses grades along with essays and activities for college admission decisions. The Chinese educational system places such importance on this single test that it determines students’ future paths, which makes fairness and AI control essential national priorities.
