Cyberattack on fridges hits supermarkets across Europe
CARR•A cyberattack overnight affected refrigeration systems at supermarkets in Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden and Ireland, with Carrefour saying 15 Belgian stores were hit and Musgrave reporting impacts at 13 SuperValu stores. Some stores discarded chilled and frozen products, and a Belgian butcher said the attack ruined about €15,000 worth of meat.
1. Stores report disruptions
A cyberattack overnight on Monday affected refrigerator and freezer systems at supermarkets across Europe, including stores operated by Ahold Delhaize and Colruyt in Belgium and Luxembourg, and grocers ICA and Coop in Sweden. An ICA franchise store manager in Stockholm said its freezers reached 50 degrees Celsius and that the contents were destroyed.
2. Impact across Europe
Carrefour said 15 of its 700 Belgian stores were affected, while Colruyt said five stores had their fridge systems attacked. Musgrave said refrigeration systems were affected at 13 SuperValu stores in Ireland, forcing it to remove some chilled and frozen products from sale. A Belgian butcher said the incident ruined about €15,000 worth of meat.
3. Investigation continues
Sweden's national cybersecurity centre is working on several incidents affecting grocery stores. The attacks' perpetrators and any connection to an incident in France last month remain unclear. Cybersecurity researcher Tom Hegel said retail chains run many remotely controlled systems and that grocery stock can perish quickly during disruptions.
