European supermarkets hit by coordinated refrigerator cyberattacks, investigators probe Russian involvement
Refrigeration systems in supermarkets across nine EU countries were disabled in a series of cyberattacks, prompting EU officials to investigate and many analysts to point to a Russian state-sponsored actor.
Refrigeration units in supermarkets in Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Estonia, Finland and Romania stopped working this week, echoing a similar outage that affected French stores in October. Local news outlets and supermarket spokespeople confirmed the disruptions, which have raised concerns about the resilience of critical food-supply infrastructure.
The European Commission said its top security officials will examine the incidents, and EU Agriculture and Food Commissioner Christophe Hansen called the attacks a “deliberate attempt to disrupt our food supply chain.”
A spokesperson for Belgium’s cybersecurity agency said the perpetrators have not been identified and that attribution may remain uncertain.
Several cybersecurity experts highlighted patterns that they say align with Russian state-backed activity. Xavier Bellekens, chief executive of Lupovis, noted that the attackers demonstrated specialized knowledge of industrial control systems and refrigeration technology, and that the servers used in the recent incidents had previously been linked to Russian groups. He added that the attacks appeared to be part of a broader “hybrid warfare” strategy aimed at creating disruption and psychological pressure.
Andrea Margellati, director of the independent think-tank Centro Studi Internazionali, said the attacks send a political message that European governments face threats both externally and domestically. Joseph Rooke of Recorded Future warned that as geopolitical tensions rise, state actors may increasingly collaborate with criminal networks or use ransomware as a cover for strategic objectives.
While some observers suggested less sophisticated motives such as disgruntled employees or pranksters, researchers like Charl van der Walt of Orange Cyberdefense and Inti De Ceukelaire argued that the scale and repeatability of the incidents point to a more capable adversary.
Belgium’s Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office has opened a criminal investigation, and Russia’s foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment. Other analysts, including James Sullivan of the Royal United Services Institute, cautioned that definitive attribution remains pending and that a range of actors—from lone hackers to nation-states—could be responsible.
The attacks underscore growing concerns that critical services can be targeted remotely, prompting EU capitals to consider response plans for potential large-scale hybrid operations.