Cyberattacks Target Supermarket Refrigeration Systems Across Europe and Italy

A coordinated wave of cyberattacks has targeted the refrigeration and freezing systems of supermarkets and food businesses across Europe and in Italy, forcing stores to discard thousands of spoiled products. The incidents, which began unfolding during the early morning hours, involved unauthorized remote access that altered temperature settings in display cases and storage units. In several instances, temperatures were drastically increased, turning commercial freezers into high-heat units and disrupting the essential cold chain required for food preservation.

In Italy, the disruptions impacted multiple locations, including franchise stores operating under the Coop brand in Sicily. Giuseppe Spadaro, general manager of the Radenza group which manages the affected Sicilian supermarkets, stated that the intrusions occurred around four in the morning and caused severe food spoilage by overheating the units. Beyond Sicily, the Italian National Cybersecurity Agency (ACN) reported that an enterprise in Tuscany specializing in collective catering notified authorities of an incident under NIS regulations, while a second attack affected a frozen food manufacturer in Emilia-Romagna.

The malicious activity extended far beyond Italy, affecting major retail chains and distribution networks in Belgium, Sweden, Estonia, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Finland, and Latvia. In Estonia, a supermarket freezer's temperature was remotely forced up to 50 degrees Celsius. Retailers such as Carrefour, Delhaize, and ICA reported widespread disruptions, noting that workers had to empty commercial freezers entirely. Industry experts and European officials pointed out similarities to a previous series of attacks recorded in France last October.

European Union officials expressed deep concern over the systematic disruption of the food supply chain. Christophe Hansen, the European Commissioner for Agriculture, warned that the incidents represent a deliberate attempt to undermine consumer trust and disrupt food distribution, adding that the matter will be brought before the upcoming College of Commissioners. Meanwhile, the Belgian Cybersecurity Center attributed the recent acceleration of incidents to the targeted use of artificial intelligence tools by malicious actors.

In response to the escalating crisis, the Italian government scheduled an emergency meeting at Palazzo Chigi, coordinated by Undersecretary Alfredo Mantovano. The session gathered the director of the National Cybersecurity Agency alongside the heads of domestic and foreign intelligence agencies to assess the threat level and coordinate defensive measures. Additionally, the Italian parliamentary committee for security, Copasir, arranged hearings with intelligence and cybersecurity chiefs to obtain detailed updates on the government response.

The National Cybersecurity Agency has intensified surveillance across the country and issued urgent directives to operators within large-scale retail, food logistics, and industrial refrigeration. Authorities strongly recommended verifying whether control and remote-assistance systems are directly exposed to the internet, urging companies to isolate these networks behind secure firewalls. Recommended protective measures include reinforcing remote access via virtual private networks, enforcing multi-factor authentication, reviewing privileged user accounts, and replacing outdated hardware that no longer receives vendor security patches.