A suspected second wave of cyberattacks has targeted supermarket refrigerators across Europe, causing some units to increase their temperatures and spoil food at dozens of stores in Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg and Sweden.
Supermarket groups Ahold Delhaize and Colruyt confirmed the incidents overnight. A Belgian company operating systems for Delhaize said the attackers changed refrigeration settings to trigger defrosting, according to Reuters. The resulting losses have forced supermarkets to dispose of products that had thawed or were no longer safe to sell.
The incidents follow attacks in France last month that reportedly affected hundreds of supermarkets. In those cases, temperatures were deliberately raised on the refrigeration units, leading to food spoilage.
Security researchers linked the earlier attacks to internet-connected refrigerators made by Danish company Danfoss. The units were reportedly no longer receiving security updates, while cybersecurity firm Claroty had warned in August that they could be vulnerable to remote attacks and outages.
The incidents demonstrate how weaknesses in connected equipment can produce physical consequences for businesses and food supplies. A 2025 cyberattack on U.S. food distributor UNFI similarly caused shortages and empty shelves at grocery stores and supermarkets across the country.
U.S. Department of Defense officials are also reportedly examining whether freezer units at military bases were compromised by Iran-backed hackers. Iranian hackers have additionally been blamed for attacks against U.S. water providers earlier this year.
Sources: TechCrunch.