Supermarket freezers and fridges in Europe hit by cyberattack
Supermarket freezers and fridges across multiple European countries have been hit by a new wave of cyberattacks.
Stores in Sweden, Belgium, Luxembourg, Ireland and Estonia were impacted, with some forced to dispose of ruined food.
Some European supermarkets were forced to throw away food after fridges and refrigerators were hit by a cyberattack on Monday, November 2. DW
In October, hackers remotely seized control of refrigeration systems in hundreds of supermarkets and independent stores across France, sending temperatures soaring.
Local media reported that millions of dollars worth of food had to be thrown away.
On Monday, Belgian company Sabcobel that manufactures some of the impacted refrigerators, said the units’ evaporators were switched to defrost mode, causing them to warm up.
Supermarket chains in the impacted countries reported a limited number of cyberattacks.
Gustaf Nilsson, a spokesperson for Sweden’s ICA Group supermarket chain, told the TT news agency that “a limited number” of stores were affected.
The Co-op chain said that six of its stores in central Sweden had problems with their fridges and freezers, TT reported, though it didn’t immediately have details.
Supermarket refrigerators in France were hit by a cyberattack during October. Teresa Suarez
The Delhaize chain said that an “IT incident” had affected refrigeration systems in several dozen of its stores, mostly in Belgium but also a few in neighbouring Luxembourg.
“In the affected stores, the range of fresh and frozen products is temporarily somewhat limited. Our distribution centres are operating normally, and there has been no disruption to deliveries to our stores,” spokesperson Sarah De Meester said.
In Estonia, a refrigeration technology company said attackers had accessed a computer controlling a client’s refrigeration system and raised the temperature to 50 degrees, public broadcaster ERR reported.
In Ireland, refrigeration systems in 13 SuperValu stores were affected by the “cyber incident,” parent company Musgrave Group said. A spokesman said chilled and frozen products were removed from sale as a precaution.
Most European supermarkets in Europe are linked with the internet to enable remote maintenance.
Belgium and Sweden’s national cyber-security agencies said they were monitoring the incident, the BBC reported.
- With The Associated Press
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