Supermarkets Across Europe Report New Suspected Freezer Hack

Supermarkets across Europe were hit by suspected cyberattacks that resulted in sudden changes in the temperatures of their fridges and freezers on Monday, echoing a more widespread problem in France last month.

Incidents were reported in Belgium, Ireland, Sweden, Finland and Estonia.

Ahold Delhaize NV, Carrefour SA and Spar reported issues with their refrigerators and freezers in shops in Belgium. Supermarket chains in Sweden, Ireland and Finland were also affected, causing grocers to throw away food, according to spokespeople and local media reports.

A spokesperson for Danish maker of refrigeration systems Danfoss said the incidents across Europe involved its products as was the case in France in October. There, some 700 stores were hit by cyberattacks that disabled refrigeration systems and forced shops to throw out damaged food. The Intermarché, Coopérative U and Carrefour chains were among those impacted. No group has publicly claimed responsibility for the hack.

If the latest incidents are indeed cyberattacks, the equipment may have remained vulnerable if it is using legacy software that can’t be patched.

Dutch retailer Ahold Delhaize confirmed that an “IT incident” took place in a number of its Delhaize shops in Belgium on Sunday night, impacting the refrigeration systems. A spokesperson for Carrefour Belgium said 15 of its 700 outlets are impacted. A spokesperson for Spar, a Dutch chain, said refrigeration in around five of its stores was hit.

In Ireland, a spokesperson for Musgrave Group said a cyber incident has affected refrigeration systems in 13 of its SuperValu sites. Chilled and frozen products in the affected stores have been removed from sale as a precaution.

Several supermarkets of the ICA and Coop chains in Sweden are seeing higher temperatures in freezers. At Ica Kvantum in Sjöbo, the freezers’ temperature has been raised to 50C (122F), the store said on its Facebook page, adding that it suspects a hack.

“We are aware that a limited number of stores were affected by an incident overnight, which impacted their refrigeration and freezer systems,” an ICA Sverige spokesperson said via email on Monday, adding that the stores are receiving support to manage the situation, without confirming a cyberattack. Coop has seven affected stores, a spokesperson said, confirming a hack.

In Finland, some refrigeration equipment in a few smaller K-food grocery stores “experienced temperature anomalies overnight,” according to Petri Käyhkö, head of corporate security at Kesko Oyj, Finland’s second-biggest grocer.

Kesko began investigating the cause after receiving automated alerts and as staff entered the premises in the morning, he said in an emailed response to questions. An IT-related incident is not ruled out, he said. It’s not a widespread phenomenon, but only affects a couple smaller grocery stores whose equipment is not included within the scope of Kesko’s centralized safeguards, he said.

In Estonia, grocery chain Selver experienced the problem at its only store to still be using an older type of Danfoss refrigeration control system. The issue was fixed in minutes, a spokesperson told local broadcaster ERR.

Last month, a cyberattack resulted in days of service outages and empty shelves across Ahold Delhaize stores in the Netherlands. The company has still not said what caused the problem.

In the U.S., the Pentagon said last week it was examining the failure of food storage freezers across several military facilities.

Top photo: The incidents raise concerns of a repeat of the disruption that took place in France last month. Photographer: Dirk Waem/Belga Mag/Belga/AFP/Getty Images. Bloomberg.