Suspected cyber-attacks hit supermarket fridges in nine European countries

Suspected cyber-attacks on Monday disrupted refrigeration and freezer systems at supermarkets in at least nine European countries, and some stores had to throw away spoiled food. BBC listed the affected countries as Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden.

In Belgium, around 40 Delhaize supermarkets in Belgium and Luxembourg were affected. Federal prosecutors in Belgium opened an investigation after dozens of stores reported refrigeration failures. Euronews reported that affected fridges in Belgium were turned up to 17 degrees Celsius, forcing stores to discard food.

Temperatures in affected chains across Europe reportedly rose as high as 50C (122F). In Estonia, the public broadcaster ERR reported that at least one supermarket was attacked by hackers who raised refrigeration unit temperatures to that level.

The picture varied by country. Reuters described a hacking attack that hit supermarket fridges and freezers from Sweden to Belgium. Swedish chain ICA said a limited number of its stores experienced refrigeration problems. In Finland, irregular temperatures were detected in a few smaller grocery stores belonging to the Kesko group.

In Ireland, 13 SuperValu stores were affected by what owner Musgrave Group called a cyber-incident. In Italy, the national cybersecurity agency said at least four Co-op supermarkets in Sicily and one business in Tuscany were affected. The Italian government said the impact was currently very limited and called a meeting with intelligence chiefs.

In Portugal, the Mosqueteiros group linked incidents at seven Intermarche stores to a cyberattack. The incidents appear to have targeted an external service provider that manages refrigeration systems.

The European Union's food and agriculture commissioner, Christophe Hansen, said the bloc was taking the incidents very seriously. In the United Kingdom, the National Cyber Security Centre, the government's cyber agency, warned British retailers to update software on fridge temperature controls.

The episode follows a larger disruption in France. BBC reported that a cyber-attack there caused fridges and freezers to heat up and spoil fresh and frozen food. About three weeks before Monday's incidents, that attack disrupted as many as 700 French grocery stores, with food losses estimated at tens of millions of euros.