In brief
A cyber incident has disrupted refrigeration systems at 13 Irish SuperValu stores and caused similar outages in Sweden, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France, prompting supermarkets to remove chilled and frozen items. Authorities say the attacks are not confirmed to be linked or identify perpetrators.
Cyber attackers have thrown open the refrigerators of supermarkets across Europe, forcing chains to pull chilled and frozen foods from shelves as a precaution. The incident began on Monday when 13 Irish SuperValu stores reported loss of refrigeration control, and quickly spread to Sweden, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France.
Musgrave Group, which owns SuperValu, said the disturbance was limited to a single model of refrigeration equipment. The company had to remove all perishable products from sale while unchanged goods remained on the shelves. Musgrave Group spokesperson said the company was working with equipment suppliers and cybersecurity specialists to investigate the breach and restore normal operations.
Our monitoring systems alerted us to the issue and we took immediate action,
the spokesperson added.
Sweden’s grocery retailer Axfood confirmed that its freezer system at a distribution centre handling home deliveries was hacked. Other national chains, including ICA and Coop, reported overnight refrigeration problems. Coop said six of its stores were affected, and ICA noted disruptions at a limited number of locations. One ICA outlet reported that refrigeration and freezer temperatures had been set to 50 degrees Celsius following a suspected cyberattack.
Delhaize, part of Dutch group Ahold Delhaize, announced that an IT incident had impacted the refrigeration systems at dozens of stores across Belgium and Luxembourg. The Belgian retailer Colruyt Group also confirmed that the refrigeration systems at five Spar stores had been attacked.
These incidents follow a major French cyberattack in October that lifted control of refrigeration systems at hundreds of supermarkets, causing temperatures to rise sharply, leading to substantial food losses and fires, French police reported.
Authorities have not yet established whether the most recent incidents across Europe are connected or identified who may be responsible for the attacks.
