Cyberattacks hit supermarkets in nine European countries, EU warns of food supply threat

The incidents were reported on Monday, November 2, in Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The attacks reportedly involved the remote manipulation of refrigeration systems, causing temperatures in some fridges and freezers to rise to as high as 50 degrees Celsius and leaving chilled and frozen products unsafe for sale.

European Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Christophe Hansen described the repeated incidents as a deliberate attempt to disrupt the bloc’s food supply chain and undermine consumer confidence.

He said the latest attacks were deeply concerning and called for greater preparedness against emerging threats.

Several major supermarket operators reported disruptions. Sweden’s ICA and Coop chains said some of their outlets experienced refrigeration problems, while Belgium’s Delhaize reported incidents affecting several dozen stores, mostly in Belgium and some in neighbouring Luxembourg.

Carrefour said 15 of its more than 700 stores in Belgium were affected. In Ireland, Musgrave Group, the parent company of SuperValu, reported problems involving refrigeration systems in 13 stores and said chilled and frozen products had been removed from sale as a precaution.

In Estonia, attackers reportedly accessed a computer controlling a supermarket refrigeration system and raised its temperature to 50 degrees Celsius. The incident was contained within minutes, according to the refrigeration technology company involved, with no significant damage reported.

The disruptions forced some retailers to discard affected products, while others temporarily limited the availability of fresh and frozen food.

The latest incidents follow a similar cyberattack in France last month, when refrigeration systems in hundreds of supermarkets and independent stores were reportedly compromised, resulting in spoiled food and substantial financial losses.

Reuters reported that the latest attacks affected several supermarket groups, including Ahold Delhaize, Colruyt, ICA and Coop. At least one IKEA store in Belgium also experienced disruption.

Cybersecurity experts say retailers are increasingly exposed because refrigeration equipment, building management systems, security cameras and other operational devices can be monitored and controlled remotely.

Some of the affected refrigeration units reportedly used temperature-control technology supplied by Danish company Danfoss, whose equipment was also targeted during the earlier incident in France.

Belgium’s Centre for Cybersecurity said investigators had not established who was responsible for the latest attack. No group had claimed responsibility, and Reuters reported that it could not independently determine whether the incidents were connected to the French attacks.

The European Commission’s warning has renewed concerns about the vulnerability of critical services and infrastructure to cyber threats.

The investigations are ongoing, while affected retailers are working to restore normal refrigeration operations and replenish products removed from sale.