Cyberattacks Disrupt Supermarkets Across Europe: What You Need to Know

Widespread Refrigeration Issues Linked to Cyberattacks

Stockholm: On Monday, supermarkets in Sweden, Belgium, Luxembourg, Ireland, and Estonia experienced significant issues with their refrigeration systems, reportedly due to cyberattacks. This led to the disposal of spoiled food items in several locations.

These incidents follow a previous attack last month where hackers gained remote access to refrigeration units in numerous supermarkets and independent shops throughout France, causing temperatures to rise dangerously high.

Gustaf Nilsson, a representative from the ICA Group supermarket chain in Sweden, informed the TT news agency that a 'limited number' of stores were impacted by the overnight incident affecting their refrigeration and freezing systems, although he did not specify how many.

An ICA Kvantum store located in Sjobo, southern Sweden, reported that its refrigeration units were compromised, with temperatures set to 50 degrees Celsius. The store announced on Facebook that staff were discarding the affected items.

The Coop chain also reported issues, with six of its stores in central Sweden experiencing problems with their refrigeration systems, according to TT, though further details were not immediately available.

The Delhaize chain acknowledged an 'IT incident' that impacted refrigeration systems in several dozen stores, primarily in Belgium, with a few in Luxembourg.

Spokesperson Sarah De Meester stated, 'In the affected stores, the selection of fresh and frozen products is temporarily limited. Our distribution centers are functioning normally, and deliveries to our stores have not been disrupted.'

Carrefour confirmed that a cyberattack on refrigeration systems affected 15 of its over 700 stores in Belgium, describing the impact as 'extremely limited.'

In Estonia, a refrigeration technology firm reported that attackers accessed a computer controlling a client's refrigeration system, raising the temperature to 50 degrees Celsius, as noted by public broadcaster ERR.

Jann Mutso, CEO of Kitman Coldtech, did not disclose the name of the affected store but mentioned that the issue was resolved quickly, resulting in no significant damage. The Selver supermarket chain confirmed that one of its locations was impacted.

In Ireland, 13 SuperValu stores were affected, as reported by The Irish Times. A spokesperson for Musgrave Group, which owns SuperValu, stated that chilled and frozen products were removed from sale as a precautionary measure.

The report indicated that only a specific model of refrigerator was involved in the incidents.