At least nine European countries were hit by suspected cyberattacks targeting supermarket refrigeration systems on Monday, raising concerns about potential disruptions to the European Union’s food supply chain.
Supermarkets in Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden reported refrigeration failures that forced some retailers to discard food after temperatures in storage units rose overnight.
The incidents occurred three weeks after a cyberattack disrupted grocery stores in France, forcing hundreds of outlets to dispose of spoiled food.
No group has claimed responsibility for either wave of attacks.
EU Commissioner for Food and Agriculture Christophe Hansen said the bloc was taking the incidents “very seriously”, warning that they could undermine confidence in the region’s food supply system.
“They are a deliberate attempt to disrupt our food supply chain and undermine consumers’ confidence in it — a warning that we must take seriously,” he said.
In Italy, at least four Coop supermarkets in Sicily and another business in Tuscany were affected, according to local media reports and the country’s national cybersecurity agency.
The Italian government was expected to hold a cybersecurity meeting with intelligence officials on Tuesday.
“The attack happened at 4:00 am (0300 GMT),” Giuseppe Spadaro, head of the Radenza Group, which manages Coop-branded supermarkets, told the Italian news agency ANSA.
He said the attack targeted “our remote-control system for frozen food sections” but had since been resolved.
Belgium was among the worst-affected countries, with dozens of stores belonging to several supermarket chains reporting refrigeration failures. Federal prosecutors have opened an investigation into the incidents.
“It’s a cyberattack; there is no other reason,” said Mich Vergauwen, a spokesman for Carrefour Belgium, which reported disruptions at approximately 15 of its 700 stores.
Ikea also confirmed that its outlet in Mons experienced a cyberattack that caused freezer temperatures to rise.
Belgian refrigeration company Sabcobel said it had begun securing its installations following the October cyberattack in France. However, some systems had yet to be upgraded and were among those affected on Monday.
Other supermarket chains, including Delhaize, Colruyt and Intermarché, also reported refrigeration problems at their Belgian outlets, while four Delhaize stores in Luxembourg were affected.
In Ireland, retailer Musgrave said 13 SuperValu stores were impacted by what it described as a cyber incident.
A small number of convenience stores in the Netherlands also experienced disruptions.
In Portugal, the Mosqueteiros Group confirmed to AFP that seven Intermarché stores had been affected by incidents linked to a cyberattack.
The company said the attack “appears to have targeted an external service provider responsible for managing the refrigeration systems”.
In Sweden, supermarket chain Coop confirmed that six of its approximately 800 stores had been affected.
“We can confirm that it is a cyber incident. The problem has now been resolved, and the fridges and freezers are working as normal,” company spokesman Carlos Cancino told AFP.
Although Coop said it had not identified those responsible, Cancino noted that the affected stores were connected to a 4G mobile network rather than the updated 5G system, leaving them “more exposed” to hackers.
Refrigeration systems expose vulnerabilities
Swedish supermarket chain Ica also reported refrigeration problems at a limited number of its stores, although it did not confirm whether they were caused by a cyberattack.
According to Ica spokesperson Helena Johansson, all the affected outlets were connected to an external refrigeration control system supplied by Danish manufacturer Danfoss, the same company whose equipment was targeted in the October 12 cyberattack on French retailers.
Johansson referred further questions to Danfoss, which had not responded to an AFP request for comment.
In Finland, unusual temperature fluctuations were also detected in several smaller grocery stores operated by the Kesko Group.
“We are currently investigating the cause, and interference via the network has not yet been ruled out,” Petri Kayhko, Kesko’s head of corporate security, told AFP.
Roni Kokkola, an information security specialist at the National Cyber Security Centre of Finland’s Transport and Communications Agency (Traficom), also declined to rule out cyber interference.
“We’ve seen this in Europe in the past few months, so it spreading beyond France to other countries has been expected,” he told AFP.
“Nowadays, it’s very typical that all kinds of vulnerabilities are being exploited ever more actively and rapidly.”
In Estonia, at least one supermarket was reportedly targeted by hackers who raised the temperature in its refrigeration units to 50 degrees Celsius, according to public broadcaster ERR.
Jann Mutso, director of Kitman Coldtech, a manufacturer and distributor of advanced refrigeration systems, told ERR that the affected units were older models supplied by Danfoss, similar to those targeted in the French attack.
The incidents have raised concerns about the vulnerability of supermarket refrigeration systems to cyberattacks and the potential consequences for food safety, retailers and the wider European food supply chain.
AFP
