European Supermarkets: Hackers Sabotage Cooling Systems Across Five Countries

Hackers remotely altered the cooling settings in supermarkets across five European nations on Monday, causing temperatures to spike and forcing retailers to discard perishable goods. The simultaneous incidents in Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden, Ireland, and Estonia have intensified scrutiny over the security of internet-connected industrial infrastructure.

The attacks targeted the compressors and evaporators of commercial refrigeration units. In Belgium, the Delhaize chain confirmed that approximately 40 stores experienced failures beginning shortly after midnight. Freezers in some locations reached temperatures near 15 degrees Celsius. The company stated that technical teams are investigating the scope of the damage. Some stores used refrigerated trucks to preserve inventory, while others threw away products because the cold chain was broken.

Stephan Moelans, the CEO of Sabcobel, a refrigeration service provider for Delhaize, told Belgian media that evaporators were set to defrost mode. He described the manipulation as consistent with a cyberattack. Carrefour Belgium reported issues in 15 locations, and similar problems affected Spar stores and butchers in Antwerp.

In Sweden, the ICA and Coop chains notified authorities of disturbances in their cooling systems. One ICA store posted on social media that its freezers had been hacked and set to 50 degrees Celsius. The store later confirmed it had resumed normal operations. John Billow, director of the Swedish National Cyber Security Centre, said authorities have detected numerous operational technology devices exposed to the internet without necessary security updates in recent weeks.

Musgrave, the owner of Ireland's SuperValu chain, confirmed a cyberattack incident affected 13 of its supermarkets. The company removed refrigerated and frozen products from sale. In Estonia, technology firm Kitman Coldtech reported that a local supermarket chain suffered a remote manipulation that raised its cooling system temperatures to 50 degrees Celsius. The company did not name the specific retailer.

These events follow an October attack in France that also impacted Belgium and the Netherlands. Police reported that hackers then took control of cooling systems in hundreds of supermarkets, causing temperatures to rise high enough to trigger fires and equipment damage. Authorities have not yet publicly identified the perpetrators of the current incidents or claimed responsibility.

Investigators in multiple countries are determining if these cases constitute a coordinated campaign against European retail. The incidents illustrate the expanding attack surface created by digitizing traditional equipment such as industrial freezers and alarm networks.