Supermarket freezers across seven European countries were impacted by a suspected cyberattack, resulting in widespread food spoilage and millions of euros in losses, officials and media reported.
The attack caused evaporators in affected freezer units to be switched to defrost mode, leading to warming temperatures and the loss of frozen goods. Roughly 40 Delhaize supermarkets in Luxembourg and Belgium were impacted, with additional supermarkets hit in Ireland, the Netherlands, Finland, Sweden and Estonia, according to reporting.
Stephan Moelans, CEO of Sabcobel, the Belgian company that operates the Delhaize systems, confirmed the incident was a cyberattack. Moelans said the company has been working to disconnect the units that have been affected. He noted that a cyberattack in France last month prompted most customers to switch to secure internet connections for fridge management, which he described as the simplest solution.
Local media reported millions of euros worth of food had to be tossed. The incident occurred days after the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) urged Americans to make emergency plans in a Halloween post, and following warnings from former FBI deputy director Dan Bongino and other countries about cyberattack threats and the need for citizens to stockpile essentials.
