Supermarket freezers hit in Europe-wide cyberattack
Original: Supermarket freezers across Europe hit by second suspected cyber-attack
Why This Matters
Attacks on food cold chains signal a shift in critical infrastructure targeting.
Refrigeration units in supermarkets across seven European countries were hacked overnight, with temperatures spiking to 50°C. The attack mirrors a similar incident last month that caused tens of millions in losses across ~700 French stores.
Retailers in Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Sweden reported refrigeration failures Monday after hackers seized control of cooling units overnight, pushing temperatures as high as 50°C (122°F). Swedish chains Coop and ICA confirmed they were hit: six Coop stores were affected, while an ICA store in Sjöbo reported fridges set to 50°C, and a Stockholm location said freezers were destroyed in a '2am cyberattack.' The incident closely resembles a hack last month targeting around 700 French supermarkets, which caused fires and food losses estimated in the tens of millions of euros. EU Food and Agriculture Commissioner Christophe Hansen called the repeated attacks 'a deliberate attempt to disrupt our food supply chain and undermine consumers' confidence in it.' John Billow, head of Sweden's national cybersecurity center, confirmed an investigation was underway. Authorities have flagged that internet-connected infrastructure—including commercial refrigeration—is increasingly exposed to what they describe as government-sponsored hybrid attacks, a threat that has grown sharper since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.