European supermarket fridges hit with suspected cyber attack

A suspected cyber attack has hit supermarket refrigeration systems across Europe, raising fridge and freezer temperatures. The incident renews concerns over food-sector cyber resilience and supply-chain stability.

Supermarkets across Sweden, Belgium, Luxembourg, Ireland and Estonia have been hit by a suspected cyber attack that raised fridge and freezer temperatures overnight. The incidents have prompted alerts and investigations from international cyber security agencies following similar events in France. International Scope and Affected Stores Food Navigator, freepressjournal.in and LBC report that stores in Sweden, Belgium, Luxembourg and Ireland were hit. Freepressjournal.in and LBC add Estonia to this list. Affected chains include ICA in Sweden, Ahold Delhaize in Belgium and Luxembourg, Sweden’s Coop, Spar in Belgium, and Supervalu in Ireland, according to Food Navigator. Freepressjournal.in states that ICA Group spokesperson Gustaf Nilsson declined to give a specific number for affected stores, while Food Navigator notes that the UK has not been affected. Freepressjournal.in reports that an ICA Kvantum branch in Sjobo wrote on Facebook that its units were hacked and set to 50 degrees Celsius, and Coop stated six of its stores in central Sweden had problems. Delhaize reported an IT incident affecting refrigeration systems in several dozen stores, with Sarah De Meester stating that fresh and frozen product ranges are temporarily limited while distribution centres and deliveries operate normally. Carrefour in Belgium stated a cyber attack had an extremely limited impact on 15 of its more than 700 stores, according to freepressjournal.in. In Estonia, freepressjournal.in reports that Kitman Coldtech CEO Jann Mutso stated a client was hit, with the attack responded to within minutes and no significant damage, while the Selver chain said one outlet was affected. LBC notes that 13 SuperValu stores in Ireland were impacted, and Stephan Moelans, chief executive of Belgian refrigeration company Sabcobel, stated the units were targeted in a cyber attack putting evaporators into defrost mode. Food Navigator and freepressjournal.in state that temperatures were raised to around 55°C and 50°C respectively. LBC reports temperatures rose as high as 50°C and local media reports millions of euros worth of food may have been destroyed, while freepressjournal.in mentions some stores were forced to dispose of ruined food. Prior Attacks and Investigation Food Navigator and LBC report that last month French supermarket fridges were attacked, spoiling food worth millions of euros, with chains affected including Coopérative U, Carrefour, Monoprix and E.Leclerc. Food Navigator states the attacked software was provided by Danish firm Danfoss, while LBC notes hackers took control of cooling units at up to 700 supermarkets, raising temperatures from as low as -27C to more than 50C with losses ranging from tens of thousands of euros to more than €130,000 per store, alongside two supermarkets in Alsace reporting combined losses of €270,000. Food Navigator states no one has claimed responsibility for those attacks, which are currently investigated by the Paris Prosecutor’s Office and ANSSI. The Pentagon is looking at whether suspicious freezer failures in stores on US military bases in August were a cyber attack linked to the European attacks, according to Food Navigator. Food Navigator also notes Felix Aimé, senior CTI Analyst at Sekoia Threat Detection & Research, stated Belgium was identified as a country with exposed systems during the French attacks, with over 2,700 StoreView systems reachable over the internet using Censys data, including approximately 1,700 in France, nearly 50 percent of which are offline. Agency Responses Food Navigator and LBC report that the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre, part of GCHQ, is working with international partners, retailers and industry to understand details and guard against the threat. Food Navigator states an ICA spokesperson said their IT systems were not affected and the incident affected stores using an external supplier with connectivity outside the central network, while Ahold Delhaize is assessing the situation. LBC reports Sweden’s national cybersecurity centre is investigating several incidents, and its head, John Billow, warned that many operational technology devices remain exposed and need patching or updating. Freepressjournal.in states the attacks in France appeared to target old systems, and notes its article is auto-generated from an agency feed. LBC states it is not clear who is behind the latest attacks and no group has claimed responsibility.

Read source: Food Navigator