European Supermarkets Under Threat Again Due to Cyberattack

Supermarkets in Sweden, Belgium, and Luxembourg have reported increased temperatures in refrigerators and freezers, raising concerns of a second suspicious breach similar to an attack in France that led to product losses worth millions of euros.

Sweden

The Swedish supermarket chain Coop, owned by a consumer cooperative, told the newspaper Aftonbladet that six of its stores were affected. Another Swedish chain, ICA, stated that it is "aware that a limited number of stores have been affected by an incident impacting their cooling and freezing systems."

Belgium and Luxembourg

Dutch retailer Ahold Delhaize, one of the largest in Europe, operates in Belgium and Luxembourg under the brands Delhaize and Proxy Delhaize. Last month, the company reported a cybersecurity incident to the Dutch police and has now confirmed that an "IT incident" affected refrigerators and freezers in dozens of its supermarkets in these two countries. Company spokesperson Sarah De Meester stated that the increase in cooling system temperatures has been identified, and the incident is under investigation.

Belgian newspaper Le Soir reported that dozens of stores were affected: five outlets of the international small supermarket chain Spar, several Shop & Go stores at Q8 gas stations, and a number of Proxy Delhaize mini-markets. "We started calling technicians at one in the morning," Stephan Moelans, head of the Belgian company Sabcobel, which installs cooling systems, told the newspaper. "All night and morning, we disconnected the affected units from the network."

French attack

In October, French police reported that hackers had taken control of cooling systems in up to 700 supermarkets: they remotely changed the settings of thousands of freezers and refrigeration cabinets, raising the temperature from -27C to over 50C. Affected chains included Intermarché, Coopérative U, Carrefour, Leclerc, and Monoprix. Stores had to dispose of meat, dairy products, and frozen goods: losses ranged from tens of thousands of euros to €130,000 per store, and two stores in Alsace reported combined damages of €270,000.