European supermarket freezers hit by suspected cyber-attack
By Nana Karikari, Senior Global Affairs Correspondent A suspected cyber-attack has disrupted supermarket cooling systems across multiple European nations. The incident targeted commercial refrigerators and freezers overnight, causing widespread temperature manipulation and severe inventory losses. The breach hit dozens of stores in Belgium and Sweden, as well as facilities in Luxembourg and…
A suspected cyber-attack has caused widespread disruption to supermarket cooling systems in Belgium, Sweden, Luxembourg, and Ireland. The incident targeted commercial refrigerators and freezers, leading to significant temperature manipulation and massive inventory losses.
In Belgium, Delhaize, one of the largest supermarket chains, reported that 40 of its stores were affected, with financial losses reaching €100,000 at a single branch in Hoeilaart. Carrefour, a French-owned supermarket, stated that only 15 of its Belgian stores were impacted.
In Sweden, ICA and Coop stores were hit, with one ICA branch in Sjöbo reporting that freezers had been set to an extreme 50 degrees Celsius. Store employees were forced to discard spoiled food. Coop confirmed impacts across seven of its 800 Swedish stores, but the situation was contained and under control.
In Ireland, 13 SuperValu stores were affected. National cyber-security agencies in both Belgium and Sweden confirmed they were actively monitoring the situation. The source of the attack remains unidentified, and authorities are not attributing it to any specific threat actor. Retailers are conducting IT audits to secure connected infrastructure and prevent further damage.
This incident highlights the vulnerability of cold-chain supply networks to remote IoT exploits, as commercial refrigeration increasingly relies on centralized software management.
Written by urgent.news from GBC Ghana's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
