Finnish shops possibly affected by European supermarket freezer hack
Refrigeration malfunctions have been detected in some K-stores, and the cause is being investigated.
A computer network hack that caused grocery store refrigeration and freezer systems to fail in several European countries may also have impacted some Finnish supermarkets. ICA and Coop supermarkets in Sweden were among those targeted, with refrigerators and freezers shutting down, forcing staff to discard spoiled food. One ICA shopkeeper in Sweden reported the freezers reaching temperatures of up to 50 degrees Celsius.
Belgian and Luxembourg stores belonging to Ahold Delhaize also reported an IT incident affecting freezers and refrigerators. Similar disruptions were reported in France last month. A number of smaller, individual Kesko-run stores in Finland have observed temperature changes in their refrigeration equipment, though the cause has not been confirmed.
The K-market-branded Lönkan Herkku in Helsinki experienced malfunctioning refrigeration units for about 1–2 hours on Sunday night, but shopkeeper Sami Mustonen stated the disruption was brief.
Kesko's Head of Security, Petri Käyhkö, clarified that this is not a widespread disruption, as only a small number of shops were affected, and their refrigerators were not protected by centralised safeguards. The stores have since taken steps to address the issue. According to Roni Kokkola, an IT security expert at the Cyber Security Centre, a small percentage of shops had refrigeration units connected to the public internet, highlighting the importance of adequate updates and protection for connected devices.
Written by urgent.news from Yle News Finland's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
