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Cyberattacks targeting supermarket refrigeration systems have disrupted stores across five European countries, with hackers reportedly raising temperatures in some refrigerators and freezers to as high as 50 degrees Celsius. The incidents forced retailers to remove chilled and frozen products from sale, while some stores had to discard spoiled food.
According to news agency AP, supermarkets in Sweden, Belgium, Luxembourg, Ireland and Estonia reported refrigeration problems on Monday (November 2). The incidents follow a similar cyberattack in France last month, when attackers remotely manipulated cooling systems at hundreds of supermarkets and independent stores, causing temperatures to rise sharply.
How did hackers disrupt supermarket refrigeration systems?
The incidents involved unauthorised interference with computer-controlled refrigeration equipment, resulting in abnormal temperature settings.
In southern Sweden, an ICA Kvantum supermarket in Sjobo reported that its refrigerators and freezers had been hacked and set to 50 degrees Celsius.
The store said in a Facebook post that employees were discarding affected food products.
ICA Group spokesperson Gustaf Nilsson told Sweden's TT news agency that a limited number of stores had experienced an overnight incident affecting their cooling equipment. However, he did not disclose the exact number.
Another Swedish retailer, Coop, reported refrigeration problems at six stores in central Sweden, although further details were not immediately available.
Which European supermarket chains were affected?
Several major grocery retailers reported disruptions, although the scale of the incidents varied.
In Belgium, Delhaize said an "IT incident" had affected refrigeration equipment at several dozen stores, including a small number in neighbouring Luxembourg.
"In the affected stores, the range of fresh and frozen products is temporarily somewhat limited. Our distribution centres are operating normally, and there has been no disruption to deliveries to our stores," spokesperson Sarah De Meester said.
Meanwhile, Carrefour confirmed that a cyberattack targeting cooling systems had affected 15 of its more than 700 Belgian stores. The company described the overall impact as "extremely limited."
What happened at supermarkets in Ireland and Estonia?
In Ireland, 13 SuperValu stores were affected, according to The Irish Times.
A spokesperson for Musgrave Group, which owns the supermarket chain, said chilled and frozen products had been withdrawn from sale as a precaution.
The newspaper reported that the disruption was limited to a specific refrigerator model.
In Estonia, refrigeration technology company Kitman Coldtech reported that attackers had accessed a computer controlling a client's cooling system and increased the temperature to 50 degrees Celsius.
Chief executive Jann Mutso said the problem was resolved within minutes without significant damage, according to public broadcaster ERR.
Although Mutso did not identify the affected customer, supermarket chain Selver confirmed that one of its outlets had experienced the disruption.
Were similar cyberattacks reported in France?
The latest incidents come after hackers remotely took control of refrigeration systems at hundreds of supermarkets and independent stores across France in October.
Those attacks appeared to target older refrigeration systems.
The incidents have drawn attention to the vulnerability of digitally controlled supermarket equipment, where unauthorised changes to temperature settings can threaten food stocks even without disrupting payment systems or store operations.
The available reports have not established whether the incidents across the different countries were carried out by the same attackers.
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