Supermarkets in several European countries were targeted in suspected cyberattacks on refrigeration and freezing systems on Monday. Reported incidents affected stores in Sweden, Belgium, Luxembourg, Estonia and Ireland, where manipulated settings caused temperatures to rise sharply and spoiled large quantities of food. A similar incident was reported in France only recently.
Ahold Delhaize said an “IT disruption” affected refrigeration systems at dozens of its supermarkets in Belgium and Luxembourg. Company spokeswoman Sarah De Meester said the incidents were being investigated. The retailer had already reported a cyberattack to Dutch police last month.
In Sweden, the ICA and Coop chains were affected. One supermarket said on social media that the temperature in its refrigerators and freezers had been raised to about 10 degrees Celsius. ICA said several stores had been affected by the overnight outage, while Coop told the newspaper Aftonbladet that six of its branches were involved.
The events resemble a large-scale incident in France last month. According to French police, hackers took control of refrigeration systems in hundreds of supermarkets, leading to spoiled food and fires.
In Belgium, Carrefour said 15 of its 700 stores had been affected. Colruyt reported attacks on refrigeration systems at many of its Spar franchise stores. Butcher operator Luc De Laet estimated the damage at his business at around 15,000 euros. He said the systems that register temperatures could be hacked and programmed remotely.
In Ireland, food wholesaler Musgrave said an incident disabled refrigeration systems at 13 SuperValu stores. In Estonia, temperatures at a supermarket chain also rose to 10 degrees, public broadcaster ERR reported, citing technology provider Kitman Coldtech.
The background to the incidents was initially unclear. No financial demands had been made, leading experts to suspect sabotage. Tom Hegel, an analyst at cybersecurity company SentinelOne, said retailers were vulnerable because they operate numerous refrigeration controllers, building-management systems, access controls and checkout systems. He added that thin margins and rapidly perishable goods meant any disruption could have immediate and visible consequences.
Sources: Handelsblatt.