Cyberattacks on hundreds of supermarket fridges and freezers across Europe have driven temperatures to between 50 and 70 degrees Celsius, spoiling large quantities of food. The incidents have affected several grocery chains, with Sweden opening investigations and retailers in Belgium and Ireland confirming disruptions.
Freezers heated up overnight
According to Reuters, attacks on Monday disrupted refrigeration and freezer systems at supermarket chains from Sweden to Belgium. Dozens of stores in Belgium and Luxembourg were affected, while Swedish grocery chains ICA and Coop reported similar incidents.
Angela Ingvall, sales manager at an ICA franchise store in Stockholm, told Reuters that temperatures in all the store’s freezers reached about 50 degrees Celsius after the attack. She said it happened at around 2 a.m. but was not discovered until several hours later, by which time products had spoiled.
Retailers confirm affected stores
Retailers in Belgium and Ireland have outlined the impact on their networks. In Ireland, some chilled and frozen goods were withdrawn from sale as a precaution following the disruption.
- Carrefour said 15 of its 700 stores in Belgium were affected.
- Colruyt Group said refrigeration systems at five SPAR stores in its franchise network were targeted.
- Irish food wholesaler Musgrave said refrigeration systems at 13 SuperValu stores were affected by a cyber incident, prompting the precautionary removal of some products.
Investigations follow earlier attacks in France
Sweden’s National Cyber Security Centre has begun investigating multiple incidents involving grocery stores across the country. Reuters reported that no group had claimed responsibility for the latest attacks.
The incidents follow cyberattacks on hundreds of supermarket cooling units in France last month. In those cases, hackers increased cooling-system temperatures, with fires reported at some locations and food going to waste.
It remains unclear whether the recent attacks in Sweden, Belgium and other European countries are connected to the earlier incidents in France.
Connected equipment broadens exposure
Cybersecurity experts say modern retail stores increasingly connect refrigeration, heating, security cameras, alarms, door controls and checkout systems to networks. Those connections create additional routes for attackers to exploit.
The latest incidents have heightened concerns in Europe that cyberattacks can reach beyond computers and data to disrupt physical and industrial systems used in everyday life.
