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The hacking of refrigerators and freezers in supermarkets across half of Europe has affected, according to the latest findings, over 100 stores in Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden, Ireland and Estonia, forcing supermarkets and retailers to throw away large quantities of deteriorated food products.
The European Commission: coordination between member states
The European Union is “aware of these incidents”, which have so far affected the refrigeration systems of supermarkets in 6 EU countries. This was stated by the spokesperson of the Agriculture Commission, Louise Bogey, commenting on the hacker attacks that have hit large-scale retail trade in the last 24 hours. “These incidents demonstrate that cyber attacks can interrupt services, affect businesses and directly impact the daily lives of citizens”, explains the spokeswoman, recalling that “the EU has various tools to respond to such incidents”.
«We rely on CYCLONe for coordination and information sharing, as several Member States have been affected – concludes Bogey -. The Commission will continue to work with Member States to strengthen cybersecurity across the Union, including under the Cyber Resilience Act, the Cyber Solidarity Act and NIS2.”
«The repetition of cyber attacks» which hit dozens of supermarkets in Europe «is deeply worrying. This is a deliberate attempt to disrupt our food supply chain and undermine consumer confidence in it – a warning we must take seriously.” This was stated by the EU Commissioner for Agriculture, Christophe Hansen, assuring that “food safety” in the EU “is not currently at risk, but food waste and the impact on businesses are real” and that he will raise the “issue with my fellow commissioners in our next meeting” of the EU college.
Belgium and Luxembourg: Delhaize, Carrefour, Spar and butchers
The Dutch group Ahold Delhaize has announced that a “cyber incident” which occurred overnight affected the refrigerators and freezers of dozens of Delhaize stores in Belgium and Luxembourg: the chain detected an increase in temperature in its refrigeration systems and started an investigation. Already last month, Ahold reported a cybersecurity incident to the Dutch police after detecting suspicious activity within its infrastructure.
Also in Belgium, the French giant Carrefour said that around 15 of its 700 stores had experienced problems with their refrigeration systems, while Colruyt Group, which franchises Spar stores, reported that five stores had suffered an attack on their refrigeration systems. In the shop of the De Laet + Van Haver butcher chain in Hove, south of Antwerp, the temperature of the refrigerators was raised up to 18 degrees, causing the spoilage of meat worth around 15,000 euros, as reported by founder Luc De Laet.
Sweden and Ireland: Coop, Ica and SuperValu
In Sweden, the Coop chain announced that the refrigeration systems of seven of its 800 stores were affected, with disruptions ranging from total blockage to partial operation. The company confirmed that the problems were caused by a cyber incident, with unauthorized tampering with the systems. The company’s suppliers include the Danish company Danfoss. Ica also stated that a limited number of stores were affected by a night-time incident with the refrigeration and freezing systems.
In Ireland, food wholesaler Musgrave said a cyber incident compromised refrigeration systems at 13 of its SuperValu stores, forcing the company to withdraw some chilled and frozen products from sale.