Supermarket refrigeration systems were affected by cyberattack-related incidents in several European countries during the night from Sunday 1 November to Monday 2 November, according to national media reports. Stores in Belgium, Sweden and Luxembourg reported problems, weeks after a similar incident in France on 12 October caused temperatures to rise in refrigerated units.
Ahold Delhaize reported a computer incident affecting refrigerators in several supermarkets in Belgium and Luxembourg. In Belgium, Carrefour said around 15 of its 700 stores in the country were affected. Several dozen Delhaize stores, around 15 Intermarché locations and five Colruyt stores also reported similar incidents, although those companies did not confirm that the problems were caused by a cyberattack.
A notice at a Delhaize store in Boortmeerbeek, northeast of Brussels, said that refrigerated and frozen products would not be available because of cyberattacks. Ikea also said that refrigeration equipment at its store in Mons had been targeted. According to the company, freezer temperatures suddenly rose at around 3 a.m., while no other Ikea store was affected.
The impact in Belgium was described as limited. The affected Carrefour and Intermarché stores were able to open as usual, and Intermarché said that only a small amount of merchandise had to be discarded. In some locations, supplies were replenished before opening.
In Sweden, ICA and Coop reported similar problems. One store said its refrigerators and freezers had been set to 50 degrees, matching the method observed in France on 12 October. A manager told Swedish broadcaster SVT that temperatures inside a refrigerator had reached 38 degrees when the store opened.
ICA said that a limited number of stores had been affected by an overnight incident involving refrigeration and freezing systems. Coop reported problems at six of its nearly 800 Swedish stores, forcing them to discard food that had spoiled or was at risk of spoiling. The company said some refrigerators and freezers had stopped working completely, while others had suffered partial malfunctions. However, Coop’s spokesperson said there was no information confirming that the incident was a cyberattack.
France’s earlier incident was attributed by Vincent Strubel, director of France’s National Agency for Information Systems Security, to basic security weaknesses. The affected refrigeration units were made by Danish manufacturer Danfoss, which in turn attributed responsibility to refrigeration technicians who had allegedly failed to install the latest software updates.
Sources: Le Figaro.