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Apparent cyberattacks hit supermarket fridges and freezers in at least seven European countries

No one has claimed responsibility, and the incidents follow a similar attack on hundreds of French supermarkets in October.

24 news outlets reported this
Liberal11 outletsA spreading pattern of attacks on connected equipmentCenter9 outletsDozens of shops hit, same method as FranceConservative4 outletsSupermarket freezers hit by apparent cyberattacks in Europe
Published 4 min readMoney and daily life
Overview

Supermarkets in at least seven European countries reported on Monday, Nov. 2, that fridges and freezers in some shops overheated overnight in what appear to be cyberattacks. The countries are Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Sweden, Ireland, Finland and Estonia. Temperatures in some units reportedly rose as high as 50C (122F).

About 40 Delhaize stores in Belgium and Luxembourg were affected. Stephan Moelans, chief executive of Sabcobel, the firm that operates Delhaize's refrigeration systems, called it a cyberattack and said the units' evaporators were switched to defrost mode. In Ireland, SuperValu said the problem hit a specific refrigerator model in 13 of its stores.

Carrefour Belgium said 15 of its stores were affected. In Sweden, ICA and Coop said some stores had problems, and a Coop spokesman said he had no information that it was a cyberattack. The incidents follow an October attack on hundreds of French supermarkets.

No one has claimed responsibility. EU food and agriculture commissioner Christophe Hansen called the repeated attacks "a deliberate attempt to disrupt our food supply chain".

Key figures
  • 50C (122F) highest temperature reported in affected fridges and freezers — The Guardian (US)
  • About 40 Delhaize stores hit in Belgium and Luxembourg — BBC News
  • 13 of 223 SuperValu stores in Ireland affected, by the chain's account — The Guardian (US)
  • 15 of more than 700 Carrefour stores in Belgium affected, by the chain's account — ABC News
  • 100,000 euros produce lost at one Delhaize shop in Hoeilaart, by its manager's estimate — BBC News

Three sides of the story

Liberal11 outlets

A spreading pattern of attacks on connected equipment

The Guardian opens with the spread across at least seven countries and ties it to the French attack, quoting EU commissioner Christophe Hansen on a "deliberate attempt" to disrupt food supply. It adds security voices: SentinelOne's Tom Hegel says the lack of financial demands points to sabotage. CBS News calls it the second such episode in less than a month and quotes Sabcobel's Moelans saying many units need physical changes, which "requires investment."

It also reports that ICA and Coop told AFP they had no immediate information on a cyberattack, and that no one has claimed responsibility. La Opinión lists the affected chains country by country, notes that no authority has named those responsible, and says investigations continue into whether this is a coordinated campaign against European retail. It stresses the growing risk of internet-connected industrial equipment.

Center9 outlets

Dozens of shops hit, same method as France

BBC News leads with dozens of supermarkets across seven countries and gives the Belgian detail. Sabcobel says evaporators were switched to defrost mode, in what is believed to be the method used in France. It quotes Moelans on moving fridges to a secure internet connection and adds that US authorities are investigating refrigeration malfunctions at American military bases in August.

It also reports that the UK's National Cyber Security Centre is working with partners and that no UK incidents have been reported. UPI counts the countries in its headline, then goes chain by chain and cites the Hoeilaart manager's loss of $112,200 in food. It notes the same defrost technique as in France.

NewsNation's headline calls them "apparent cyberattacks" on freezers and fridges in Europe and recalls last month's attack on hundreds of French supermarket chains.

Conservative4 outlets

Supermarket freezers hit by apparent cyberattacks in Europe

The New York Post carries the Associated Press report, which opens on supermarkets in Sweden, Belgium, Luxembourg and Estonia where freezer and fridge failures "apparently were caused by cyberattacks." It ties them to last month's case in France, where hundreds of supermarkets and independent stores had their cooling systems seized from afar and temperatures climbed. The report then goes chain by chain.

ICA spokesperson Gustaf Nilsson says "a limited number" of stores were hit overnight and gives no figure. A branch in Sjöbo wrote on Facebook that its fridges and freezers were hacked and set to 50 degrees Celsius. Coop says six stores in central Sweden had problems.

Delhaize describes an "IT incident" in several dozen stores, mostly in Belgium, and spokesperson Sarah De Meester says deliveries were not disrupted. Carrefour in Belgium says a cyberattack had an "extremely limited impact" on 15 of its more than 700 stores. In Estonia, Kitman Coldtech chief executive Jann Mutso says the attack was answered within minutes and caused no significant damage.

The report ends by noting that the French attacks appeared to target old systems.

Where outlets disagree
  • How many Coop stores in Sweden were affected
    • CBS News: Coop put the number at six, out of roughly 800 shops it has in Sweden.
    • BBC News: Coop told the BBC that seven of its 800 Swedish shops were hit.
Money and daily life

In affected Delhaize stores, a spokesperson said, the range of fresh and frozen products is "temporarily somewhat limited," while deliveries run normally. The BBC reports that a Delhaize manager in Hoeilaart put the shop's lost produce at 100,000 euros, a figure that leaves out further losses from closing the shop. The Guardian reports that Ikea Belgium removed some food products from refrigeration as a precaution.

All sources: 32 articles from 24 outlets

Liberal (15)

Center (12)

Conservative (5)

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