Supermarkets in North Rhine-Westphalia and Bavaria have reported cyberattacks that switched their refrigeration systems from cooling to heating overnight. The incidents affected two CAP stores in Wuppertal and Wetter-Volmarstein, a Rewe supermarket in Raesfeld and an Edeka branch in Reisbach. Large quantities of food had to be thrown away.
At the CAP store in Wetter-Volmarstein, both refrigerated display cases and storage areas were affected, according to a regional manager for the Arbeiterwohlfahrt, which operates the CAP markets. The attack targeted the company responsible for remotely maintaining the refrigeration equipment. The damage has not yet been assessed. CAP’s Wuppertal store also said that an external access incident had left its chilled and frozen goods too warm.
The operator of the Edeka store in Reisbach told Bayerischer Rundfunk that the system had been set to heat to 50 degrees overnight. Foodsharing collected goods that could still be saved, but most of the stock had to be discarded.
Police in Landshut are investigating the Reisbach incident on suspicion of data espionage and data manipulation. A police spokesperson said investigators would coordinate with authorities in other countries.
Similar attacks on supermarket refrigeration systems have recently been reported in Belgium, Sweden, Ireland, Luxembourg, Estonia, Finland and the Netherlands. Three weeks ago, refrigeration systems were disabled at hundreds of Intermarché and Coopérative U stores, requiring chilled and frozen goods to be destroyed. No one has claimed responsibility for those attacks.
EU Agriculture Commissioner Christophe Hansen described the incidents as a deliberate attempt to disrupt the food supply chain and undermine consumer confidence. He called their recurrence deeply concerning, while saying food safety in Europe was not currently at risk.
Sources: Tagesschau.