Cyberattacks on Supermarket Freezers Spoil Food Across Europe

A wave of suspected cyberattacks targeted supermarket refrigeration systems across several European countries, causing temperatures in fridges and freezers to soar and ruining millions of euros worth of food. Grocery store chains in Ireland, Sweden, Belgium, Luxembourg, Estonia, and the Netherlands reported sudden, dangerous temperature spikes in their storage equipment over the course of the incidents.

In Ireland, 13 SuperValu stores were impacted, forcing the company to remove chilled and frozen products from shelves. Musgrave, the owner of SuperValu, stated that a specific refrigerator model was affected. Meanwhile, Swedish retailers ICA and Coop confirmed that several of their locations experienced similar breaches, with freezers reaching up to 50 degrees Celsius, or 122 degrees Fahrenheit.

In Belgium and Luxembourg, operations were similarly disrupted. Retailers such as Delhaize Proxy, Carrefour Shop & Go, Intermarché, Spar Q8, and Colruyt reported overnight IT incidents. Stephan Moelans, the CEO of Belgian refrigeration company Sabcobel, explained that the units' evaporators had been switched directly to defrost mode by remote access.

Kitman Coldtech, a technology supplier in Estonia, reported that a supermarket chain in the country was also hit by the same high-temperature manipulation. Representatives for Carrefour Belgium firmly attributed the disruptions to malicious activity, stating that it was definitively a cyberattack with no other possible reason.

These recent events follow a large-scale incident in France from the previous month, where hackers seized control of cooling units at hundreds of supermarkets, causing fires and widespread food spoilage. Cybersecurity experts note that the retail sector remains a vulnerable target because grocery chains operate vast networks of building management systems, refrigeration controllers, and point-of-sale equipment.

Tom Hegel, a researcher at cybersecurity firm SentinelOne, noted the strategic vulnerability of the industry. "Retail is an easy target because retail chains run enormous estates of refrigeration controllers, building management systems, door access panels and point-of-sale gear," Hegel said. "Grocery margins are thin and stock perishes within hours, so any disruption hurts quickly and in public."

Industry observers and officials have expressed growing concern over the weaponization of essential infrastructure. Christophe Hansen, the European Food Commissioner, posted on social media that food security requires heightened attention at all levels because the weaponization of food has become a reality.

Investigations into the breaches are currently underway, including probes by French cybersecurity authorities. The incidents highlight ongoing vulnerabilities within the Internet of Things, as older or weakly authenticated remote management software continues to leave critical infrastructure exposed to external manipulation.