Suspected cyberattacks targeting refrigeration systems on Monday have affected food businesses across eight European countries, causing food losses and prompting a criminal investigation in Belgium.
Incidents were reported in Sweden, Belgium, Estonia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Ireland and Denmark, while Finnish retailers were investigating whether overnight temperature irregularities were linked.
EU Agriculture and Food Commissioner Christophe Hansen described the attacks as a deliberate attempt to disrupt European food security, Danish broadcaster DR reported.
Hansen said food security was not at risk, but the disruption and resulting food waste had a tangible impact on businesses. He called for coordinated efforts to strengthen resilience throughout the supply chain.
Sweden
Several ICA stores were affected, most in Skane, alongside locations on Oland, in Varmland and Stockholm.
Six Coop stores in Gastrikland and Halsingland were also hit.
At ICA Nara in Boda, on Oland, manager Mats Olsson said he found water covering the floor and a freezer temperature reading of 55C (131F).
Refrigeration units had reportedly been switched off, spoiling food.
“Right now we are emptying the freezers, there is not much else to do. They are about to get cold again, but everything is ruined,” said Dennis Vidal, an ICA manager in Sankt Olof.
ICA spokesman Gustaf Nilsson said the company was investigating and assisting stores, whose affected connections were outside its central network.
Coop confirmed unauthorized manipulation in a cyber incident and identified Danfoss among its suppliers.
Belgium, Luxembourg
Delhaize, Carrefour and Spar supermarkets were affected in Belgium.
Sabcobel CEO Stephan Moelans told Belga the attack began around midnight Sunday, affecting around 20 refrigeration units managed by the installer.
Attackers remotely switched evaporators to defrost mode, warming refrigerators, he said.
Shopkeeper Gerte Bouchet estimated at least €60,000 worth of food was discarded, Het Belang van Limburg reported.
Carrefour confirmed 15 stores were targeted across Flanders and Wallonia.
IKEA reported a cyberattack affecting refrigeration units and freezers at its Mons store.
Belgian prosecutors opened a criminal investigation. Colruyt and Intermarche reported refrigeration problems at five and around 15 stores, respectively, without confirming cyberattacks.
Ahold Delhaize reported an IT incident affecting dozens of stores in Belgium and Luxembourg.
Ireland, Denmark
A suspected cyberattack affected a specific refrigeration model at 13 SuperValu stores, parent company Musgrave said.
Monitoring systems detected the issue, prompting immediate action. Chilled and frozen goods were withdrawn as a precaution; other products remained available.
Some outlets, including Bray, County Wicklow, opened late.
Musgrave later said the problems were fully resolved and all stores were operating normally, with replenishment under way, RTE reported.
Danish food producer was also targeted, the Confederation of Danish Industry told DR.
Adviser Jeppe Engell said its supplier stopped the attack and took preventive measures. He said it was linked to incidents elsewhere.
Coop Denmark and Salling Group reported no similar disruption.
Finland, Netherlands, Estonia
A few Kesko-operated Finnish stores reported temperature problems. Security chief Petri Kayhko said affected equipment was outside centralized protection and a cyberattack had not been ruled out, Yle reported.
At one Helsinki store, equipment malfunctioned for one to two hours.
At least 17 Dutch businesses, including butcher shops, neighborhood stores and a frozen food storage facility, were targeted, Danfoss told NOS.
Danfoss said affected systems used default passwords and were outside secure networks.
In Estonia, hackers accessed a computer controlling refrigeration at a Selver supermarket and changed a freezer’s temperature, ERR reported.
