Supermarkets across Europe were hit by a suspected cyber‑attack that disabled refrigeration systems, forcing stores in Belgium, Sweden and six other countries to dump millions of euros of food. Around 40 Delhaize supermarkets in Belgium and Luxembourg were affected, while a smaller number of ICA and Coop stores in Sweden, along with outlets in Ireland, the Netherlands, Estonia, Finland and the UK were impacted. The attack caused evaporators to switch to defrost mode, raising freezer temperatures to as high as 50C.
In Hoeilaart, Belgium, a Delhaize branch lost an estimated €100,000 of produce. Stephan Moelans, CEO of Sabcobel – which manufactures the units and manages Delhaize’s systems – said the incident matched the method used in a French attack last month and required physical modifications, not just software patches. He added that most customers now manage fridges over secure internet connections.
The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre and Belgian and Swedish agencies are monitoring the situation. No UK stores reported issues. Affected chains include Carrefour (15 Belgian stores), Colruyt Group (five Spar outlets), and Musgrave Group’s Super Valu supermarkets in Ireland.
Source: Hacker News · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing