Cyber-attacks on supermarket refrigeration hit stores in 10 European countries

Supermarket refrigeration and freezer systems in ten European countries have been hit by cyber-attacks. The incidents come three weeks after an attack disrupted as many as 700 French grocery stores, causing food losses estimated at tens of millions of euros. The European Union is treating the cases seriously, and concern is heightened by the possibility of government-backed hybrid attacks targeting remotely monitored devices.

EU response

The EU's food and agriculture commissioner, Christophe Hansen, said the bloc takes the incidents very seriously and warned of further disruption in future. European Commission spokesman Thomas Regnier did not attribute blame, but said these were not isolated incidents and that Europe must be collectively resilient and prepared.

Situation by country

In Italy, Giorgia Meloni's government called a meeting with intelligence chiefs, saying the impact was currently very limited. At least four Co-op supermarkets in Sicily and one business in Tuscany were affected. Meloni's office said the affected businesses mostly still had obsolete security systems.

In Belgium, dozens of stores reported refrigeration failures, and federal prosecutors have opened an investigation. In Ireland, 13 SuperValu stores were affected, while a small number of corner shops in the Netherlands also saw disruption. In Germany, the Rewe Büsken supermarket was disrupted after an attack on system provider Danfoss; its systems have been working again since Monday afternoon.

In Portugal, incidents at seven Intermarché stores were linked to an attack on an external provider managing refrigeration systems. Sweden's ICA reported problems at a limited number of stores, and in Finland irregular temperatures were detected in a few smaller Kesko group stores. In Estonia, public broadcaster ERR reported that hackers raised the temperature in refrigeration units at at least one supermarket to 50C.