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Supermarkets in Sweden, Belgium, Luxembourg, Estonia, and Ireland experienced major disruptions on Monday (November 2) after suspected cyberattacks targeted their refrigeration systems, causing temperatures in freezers to spike and resulting in spoiled food and forced disposal of perishable goods. The incidents follow a similar attack last month in France that caused fires and widespread food losses after hackers took control of cooling units at hundreds of stores, according to NBC News.
Retailers and authorities say the attacks highlight growing vulnerabilities as more store systems become internet-connected. In Sweden, a spokesperson for ICA Group said that "a limited number" of stores were affected. The ICA Kvantum branch in Sjöbo reported its fridges and freezers were hacked and set to 122 degrees Fahrenheit, forcing the store to discard all affected items. The Coop grocery chain said six of its stores had similar problems.
In Belgium, dozens of Ahold Delhaize stores and five Spar shops had their refrigeration systems targeted, with the chief executive of Sabcobel, Stephan Moelans, telling the Belga news agency that the evaporators were switched to defrost mode. Carrefour reported only an "extremely limited impact," affecting 15 out of more than 700 locations. Luxembourg saw a few stores impacted, while in Estonia, technology supplier Kitman Coldtech confirmed that one of its clients’ systems was accessed and set to 122 degrees Fahrenheit, as detailed by Al Jazeera.
Ireland’s SuperValu chain reported a "cyber incident" at 13 stores, forcing the removal of some chilled and frozen products. The company said, "Our monitoring systems alerted us to the issue and we took immediate action. Our investigation is ongoing."
Authorities have not identified who is responsible for the attacks, and no group has claimed responsibility. The head of Sweden’s National Cybersecurity Centre, John Billow, told Reuters that they are responding to multiple incidents and have called for urgent updates to vulnerable operational technology devices.
The European Commission warned that these incidents demonstrate how cyber threats can disrupt daily life, urging stronger cybersecurity across the continent. Investigations continue as supermarkets work to restore affected systems and minimize further impacts.