Frozen part II: Hackers remotely defrost produce in Euro supermarkets ... again
Let it go (bad): Dozens of stores report mass food wastage as managers start their week in puddles
A wave of cyberattacks targeting commercial refrigerators and freezers across Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg, and Sweden has caused significant food wastage, forcing numerous supermarkets to discard fresh and frozen products. In Belgium, around 40 Delhaize stores were impacted, with store manager Diego Louwers stating that the situation was "catastrophic" and requiring stores to throw away all merchandise.
Delhaize spokespersons reported limited stock temporarily, while affected stores continue to operate normally, focusing on maintaining product quality. Around 15 Carrefour stores, as well as Intermarché, Spar, and Shop & Go sites in service stations, were also hit in Belgium. Sweden's ICA faced similar attacks, impacting a handful of stores outside its central network, with ICA confirming the incident and supporting affected locations.
Coop stores in Sweden experienced similar issues, with six locations reporting refrigerator-freezer problems. In Ireland, at least 13 SuperValue stores, operated by Musgrave, suffered from the attacks, resulting in the disposal of fresh and frozen food. This follows a recent cyberattack in France, where cold-chain breaches at multiple grocery chains forced them to discard large quantities of produce.
The source mentions that numerous grocery retailers in Europe, including the ones mentioned above, might have been using outdated firmware on their Danfoss refrigeration controllers. The article does not disclose any information about the perpetrator of the attacks.
Written by urgent.news from The Register Science's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
