Fridges in supermarkets across Europe have been hacked again

A series of cyber-attacks on refrigeration systems affected over a hundred supermarkets in at least six European Union countries within a few hours, forcing some chains to withdraw from sale and dispose of spoiled fresh and frozen products. The rises in temperature, reported during the night between Sunday and Monday, affected Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden, Ireland, Estonia and the Netherlands. 

The thermostats targeted by the hackers are of the same type as those affected in the first wave of attacks three weeks ago. According to The Guardian, the Swedish supermarket chain Coop has announced that the ‘unauthorised tampering’ with its refrigeration systems involved one of its system suppliers, Danfoss – the same Danish company that supplied the thermostats to the French supermarkets targeted last month. In the attack in France, the hackers compromised the control devices – largely supplied by Danfoss – by disabling the alarm systems, before altering the thermostat settings or extending the defrost cycle by several hours. Several of the supermarket chains affected report that temperatures inside fridges and freezers were raised to as high as 50 degrees.

Around forty Delhaize outlets in Belgium have been affected, whilst Carrefour has also reported acts of sabotage at 15 of its shops. According to AFP, Colruyt and Intermarché – which were already targeted a few weeks ago – have also experienced technical problems. An Ikea store in Belgium has also been targeted by the cyberattack: the Swedish furniture giant has specified that it is a store in Mons, which has also suffered an attack on its refrigeration control systems. Ikea has stated that it was forced to remove certain food items from its refrigerators as a precautionary measure. “We cannot rule out the possibility that other branches may be affected, as investigations are still ongoing,” said a spokesperson. 

In Luxembourg, the damage appears to be limited to a few Delhaize outlets, whilst in Sweden – one of the first countries to raise the alarm this morning – the Ica retail group, one of the country’s largest chains with a market share of around 33 per cent, has been affected. The company reported that several branches were targeted by a cyberattack overnight, resulting in refrigerators and freezers being remotely set to temperatures of up to 50 degrees Celsius. According to information provided to the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, several branches of the Coop chain were also affected. In Ireland, the systems of 13 SuperValu supermarkets have been compromised. In the Netherlands, however, according to the public broadcaster NOS, it was not the major retail chains that were affected, but mainly small businesses and local shops. 

Estonia is also among the victims of remote tampering with refrigerators. Jann Mutso, head of Kitman Coldtech, a manufacturer and distributor of refrigeration technology, told the Estonian media outlet Err that one of his clients had been attacked and that other incidents had also occurred. “I don’t know the exact details yet, but other customers in Estonia have also been affected, not just ours. It’s a very recent development; it happened this morning,” said Mutso. 

“The recurrence of cyber-attacks” that have hit dozens of supermarkets across Europe “is deeply worrying”, said the EU Commissioner for Agriculture, Christophe Hansen. “This is a deliberate attempt to disrupt our food supply chain and undermine consumer confidence in it: a warning that we must take seriously.” Hansen assured that food security in the EU “is not currently at risk, but food waste and the impact on businesses are very real” and that he will raise the “issue with my fellow Commissioners at our next meeting” of the EU College. “Strengthening resilience requires a coordinated approach across the entire food supply chain, from wholesalers to logistics operators and on to retailers. We must ensure that every link in that chain is prepared to withstand and respond to cyber threats,” Hansen concluded.