Supermarkets across Sweden, Belgium, Luxembourg, Ireland and Estonia faced disruptions to their refrigeration systems on Monday following suspected cyberattacks, forcing several stores to remove fresh and frozen products from sale.
The incidents follow a similar attack in France last month, when hackers reportedly gained remote control of refrigeration systems at hundreds of supermarkets and independent stores, causing temperatures to rise and threatening food safety.
In Sweden, supermarket chain ICA Group confirmed that a limited number of stores were affected overnight by an incident involving refrigeration and freezing systems. An ICA Kvantum outlet in Sjobo reported that its refrigerators and freezers had been hacked and set to 50 degrees Celsius, forcing staff to discard affected products.
The Coop chain also reported refrigeration problems at six stores in central Sweden.
In Belgium and Luxembourg, the Delhaize supermarket chain said an IT incident had affected refrigeration systems at several dozen outlets, mostly in Belgium. The company said fresh and frozen product availability was temporarily reduced, although its distribution centres and deliveries remained unaffected.
Carrefour reported that 15 of its more than 700 Belgian stores were affected, describing the impact as extremely limited.
In Estonia, a refrigeration technology company said attackers accessed a computer controlling a client’s refrigeration system and raised temperatures to 50 degrees Celsius. The incident affected one Selver supermarket outlet but was resolved within minutes, with no significant damage reported.
In Ireland, 13 SuperValu stores were affected. Chilled and frozen products were removed from sale as a precaution, with reports indicating that only a specific refrigerator model was vulnerable.
The cyberattacks in France last month appeared to target older refrigeration systems, raising concerns about vulnerabilities in connected equipment used across the retail sector.
The latest incidents highlight how cyberattacks on seemingly routine infrastructure can disrupt essential services, damage inventory and affect food availability across multiple countries.
Source: Associated Press
