European supermarket fridges hacked, causing food losses

Major supermarket chains in Belgium, Sweden, Luxembourg, and Estonia reported sudden temperature changes in their fridges and freezers due to suspected cyberattacks. In Sweden, an Ica Kvantum store reported that its cooling systems were hacked overnight, with temperatures remotely raised to 50 degrees Celsius. Coop confirmed that unauthorized actors accessed and tampered with cooling systems at a small fraction of their stores. Seven out of 800 Coop stores were affected, though the company stated the situation is contained and under control.

In Belgium and Luxembourg, Ahold Delhaize stated that an IT incident adjusted the temperature of refrigeration units in dozens of supermarkets. Around 40 Delhaize supermarkets were affected, with Sabcobel noting that evaporators were switched to defrost mode. Stephan Moelans, CEO of Sabcobel, told Belga news agency that the incident was a cyber-attack and that the company worked all night to disconnect affected units. A Delhaize branch in Hoeilaart reported losing €100,000 worth of produce. Carrefour stated that 15 of its Belgian stores were affected, while Colruyt Group said five Spar stores had their fridge systems attacked.

Local media reports indicated that millions of euros worth of food had to be thrown away following the attack. In Ireland, a cyber incident affected the refrigeration systems of 13 SuperValu supermarkets. A spokesperson for Danish manufacturer Danfoss told Dutch public radio channel NOS that freezing and cooling systems of at least 17 companies in the Netherlands were attacked overnight.