European Supermarkets Hit by Coordinated Refrigerator Hacking Attacks

Dozens of supermarkets across Belgium, Luxembourg, and Sweden experienced refrigerator and freezer malfunctions on Monday, November 2, in what is believed to be a coordinated cyberattack. The retail chain Ahold Delhaize reported an "IT incident" that caused temperatures to rise in its stores across Belgium and Luxembourg, later confirming it was a cyberattack. In Sweden, ICA and Coop networks reported similar temperature spikes in their freezers overnight. One ICA store linked the incident to hackers, noting that temperatures were set to 50 degrees Celsius, mirroring an attack in France three weeks prior. Coop stated that six of its stores were affected, according to the newspaper Aftonbladet.

This follows a large-scale attack in France on October 12, where unknown hackers remotely accessed refrigeration systems in over 400 supermarkets, including Intermarché/Netto, Carrefour, and Monoprix. This incident led to the spoilage of tons of products, with damages estimated in the tens of millions of euros, and some instances of fires. Paris prosecutors launched an investigation, with some observers linking the attack to potential Russian hybrid warfare retaliation for supporting Ukraine.

Sources suggest the French attack targeted cooling management systems from the Danish company Danfoss. Danfoss stated that affected units were running outdated firmware and reiterated its long-standing recommendation for clients to update their systems. The company also noted that in 2022, hackers had previously breached or attempted to breach supermarkets in Russia and Israel using older versions of its controllers. Similar malfunctions were recorded in late August at at least six U.S. military bases, including Fort Huachuca in Arizona, where all freezers reportedly thawed overnight. The Pentagon suspects a cyberattack, and U.S. investigators are collaborating with French law enforcement.