Cyberattack disrupts refrigeration systems in supermarkets across nine European countries

Supermarkets in Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden experienced refrigeration failures on 2 November, leading some retailers to discard perishable goods after temperatures rose overnight. The European Commission said the incidents appeared to be a coordinated attempt to disrupt the bloc's food supply chain.

European Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Christophe Hansen said the bloc was taking the incidents "very seriously" and described them as "a deliberate attempt to disrupt our food supply chain and undermine consumers' confidence in it — a warning that we must take seriously."

In Italy, four Coop supermarkets in Sicily and one store in Tuscany were affected; Giuseppe Spadaro, head of the Radenza Group that manages Coop stores, told ANSA the attack targeted the remote-control system for frozen food sections and was resolved by 4:00 a.m. The Italian government planned a cybersecurity meeting with intelligence services.

Belgium saw dozens of stores across several chains report refrigeration failures. Carrefour Belgium spokesman Mich Vergauwen confirmed a cyberattack affected about 15 of its 700 stores, and other retailers including Delhaize, Colruyt, Intermarché and Ikea reported similar problems. Federal prosecutors opened an investigation.

In Ireland, Musgrave said 13 Supervalu stores were impacted. The Netherlands reported a small number of corner shops affected. Portugal's Mosqueteiros group confirmed incidents at seven Intermarché stores, attributing the issue to an external service provider managing refrigeration systems.

Swedish retailer Coop confirmed six of its stores were hit, stating the problem had been resolved and the fridges were back to normal. Spokesperson Carlos Cancino noted the affected stores used a 4G network rather than the newer 5G system, making them more vulnerable. Ica also reported limited refrigeration issues linked to an external control system supplied by Danfoss.

Finland's Kesko group detected irregular temperatures in several smaller stores. Petri Kayhko, head of Kesko's corporate security, said network interference had not been ruled out, while information-security specialist Roni Kokkola of the National Cyber Security Centre said similar incidents had been seen across Europe in recent months.

Estonia reported at least one supermarket where hackers raised refrigeration temperatures to 50 °C. Jann Mutso, director of Kitman Coldtech, said the affected units were older models supplied by Danfoss, similar to those targeted in the earlier French attack.

APPLiA director general Paolo Falcioni emphasized the need for a European framework on cybersecurity for connected products, noting that security must begin at the design stage and continue throughout a product's lifecycle.