Europeupdated 57m ago2 min read
Archive photo · 3 September 2024Suspected Cyberattacks Trigger Fridge Temperature Spikes Across Belgium, Estonia, Ireland, Luxembourg, Sweden
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Suspected cyberattack caused overnight fridge/freezer temperature spikes across multiple European countries. Belgium, Sweden, Ireland, Luxembourg, Estonia, Netherlands reported elevated temperatures and food spoilage.
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Fridges turned to 50°C
Suspected cyberattacks triggered temperature spikes in grocery store refrigeration systems across Europe, with overnight increases recorded in Belgium, Estonia, Ireland, Luxembourg and Sweden. Sweden’s national cybersecurity centre confirmed it was responding to multiple incidents affecting store cooling systems, and John Billow said, "we have quite a lot of exposed operational technology devices in Sweden that we have been clear about the necessity to update or patch."
“Overnight temperature spikes were recorded in stores in Belgium, Estonia, Ireland, Luxembourg and Sweden.”
Sabcobel CEO Stephan Moelans said the refrigeration units’ evaporators were switched to defrost mode, and the BBC reported that the temperature of freezers in several stores across Europe reached up to 50 °C. The BBC also said the suspected cyberattack affected refrigerators and freezers in seven European countries, with around 40 Delhaize supermarkets in Belgium and Luxembourg affected and a smaller number of stores harmed in Sweden, Ireland, the Netherlands, Estonia, and Finland.
Who blamed, who investigated
Belgium’s Centre for Cybersecurity said it was aware of an incident targeting supermarket refrigeration systems, and Katrien Eggers told Euronews Next, "We are aware of an incident, but have no further information." Carrefour said the incident affected 15 of its more than 700 stores in Belgium, and the BBC reported that immediate measures were taken to ensure all outlets remained open.
In Sweden, ICA told Reuters in an email that a spokesperson was aware that "a limited number of stores were affected by an incident overnight, which impacted their refrigeration and freezer systems," while Coop told the BBC that the situation was "contained and under control." The BBC said the United Kingdom National Cyber Security Centre was collaborating with international partners and industry to "fully understand the details of what happened," and it added that no such incidents had been reported on British territory.
Losses and the next steps
The BBC said local media reports put food discard losses at "several million euros," and it described how refrigeration systems were damaged in dozens of stores across Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden, Ireland, the Netherlands, Estonia, and Finland. In Belgium, a Delhaize branch in Hoeilaart told Het Laatste Nieuws it had lost 100,000 euros in products, while the BBC said Carrefour described the impact as "extremely limited" and said it affected 15 of its stores in Belgium.
The European Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Christophe Hansen said the attacks were "a deliberate attempt to disrupt" EU food supplies and undermine public confidence, and a European Commission spokesperson said, "These incidents show that cyberattacks can disrupt services, affect businesses and directly affect citizens’ daily lives". Sabcobel told the BBC that the incident required physical modifications, not just software updates, and it said it was working to disconnect affected units from the network after the attack in France in early October.