Supermarkets across six European countries reported cyberattacks on their refrigeration systems on Monday, causing temperatures in freezers and refrigerators to rise sharply and leaving stores with spoiled food. The incidents affected outlets in Ireland, Sweden, Belgium, Luxembourg, Estonia and Finland, and follow a similar attack on French retailers less than three weeks prior.
In Ireland, SuperValu confirmed that refrigeration systems in 13 of its 223 stores had been affected by a cyber incident. The company said the problem involved a specific model of equipment and that chilled and frozen products had been removed from sale. Musgrave, the owner of SuperValu, was investigating the incident after its monitoring systems alerted it to the problem.
In Sweden, supermarket chains ICA and Coop also reported problems with their refrigeration systems. Coop confirmed that six of its stores had been affected, while ICA said a limited number of outlets experienced disruptions overnight. According to Reuters, the incidents caused temperatures inside refrigerators and freezers to rise, forcing stores to deal with spoiled food. The impact was particularly severe at an ICA franchise store in Stockholm, where freezer temperatures reportedly reached 50 degrees Celsius. Engla Ingwall, the store's sales manager, told Reuters that the attack began at around 2 am and was first noticed at 5:30 am. "There has been a cyberattack and all our freezers reached 50 degrees (Celsius)," Ingwall told Reuters. "Everything is destroyed."
Belgian chains including Delhaize, Colruyt and Intermarche also reported refrigeration problems at stores in Belgium. Federal prosecutors opened an investigation into the incidents. Belgian refrigeration company Sabcobel said it had begun securing its installations after the October attack in France, but some systems had yet to be upgraded and were among those affected on Monday.
In Estonia, at least one supermarket was attacked by hackers who raised the temperature in the refrigeration units to 50°C, public broadcaster ERR reported. The units were older models delivered by Danfoss, similar to the ones targeted in the France attack.
In Finland, irregular temperatures were also detected in a few smaller grocery stores belonging to the Kesko group. "We are currently investigating the cause, and interference via the network has not yet been ruled out," Petri Kayhko, head of Kesko's corporate security, told AFP.
In Luxembourg, four Delhaize outlets were affected by the refrigeration disruptions. In Portugal, the Mosqueteiros group confirmed to AFP incidents at seven Intermarche stores linked to a cyberattack that "appears to have targeted an external service provider responsible for managing the refrigeration systems."
The attacks follow a similar cyber incident less than three weeks prior that disrupted French grocery stores and forced hundreds of outlets to discard chilled and frozen products. No group has claimed responsibility for either wave of attacks. Italian authorities were to hold a cybersecurity meeting with intelligence services on Tuesday after at least four Coop supermarkets in Sicily and one business in Tuscany were affected.
The coordinated nature of the incidents across multiple EU member states has prompted the EU food and agriculture commissioner to warn that the attacks were a deliberate attempt to disrupt the bloc's food supply chain and undermine consumers' confidence in it. Investigations are ongoing across the affected countries.
