Hannaford logo's disappearing act

Name removed, then reposted to Rapid7 website

Rapid7 LLC, a Boston company that makes security software to keep out intruders, has long counted Hannaford Bros. as one of its marquee customers, along with Eastern Bank and the US Department of Homeland Security. But after the Maine-based supermarket chain reported a massive data breach Monday that exposed as many as 4.2 million credit and debit cards to fraud, Rapid7 abruptly stripped Hannaford's name and logo from its website.

Was it damage control? Embarrassment about being linked to the breach? An admission that its software failed?

A Rapid7 executive says no.

David Precopio, vice president of marketing, said Hannaford asked Rapid7 to remove its name from the site once the breach was public. But after some observers spotted the deletion (including the security website attrition.org), Precopio said Rapid7 asked Hannaford to let it repost the name.

Hannaford's name popped back on the site yesterday, after a Globe reporter called to inquire about its absence.

"We didn't want to make it look like [the breach] had anything to do with us, for sure," Precopio said.

Hannaford spokeswoman Carol Eleazer disputed Precopio's explanation. "We did not ask them to pull our logo off their website or to put it back on," Eleazer said.

Todd Wallack can be reached at twallack@globe.com.