European freezer attacks spoil stock across six countries
The Record from Recorded Future reports a second wave of attacks on supermarket refrigeration systems across six European countries, with more than 50 stores affected in Belgium and additional stores affected in Sweden, Ireland, Estonia, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. The incidents came three weeks after a French attack that prosecutors said affected about 700 supermarkets. No perpetrators have been identified, and whether the waves are connected is unknown.
Attackers remotely changed refrigeration settings, in some cases raising temperatures to 50°C, so freezers heated instead of cooled and stores discarded spoiled stock. A refrigeration installer told the publication that affected units needed physical modifications, not just a software update, to address vulnerabilities.
For retailers relying on remotely managed refrigeration, these incidents put inventory and store operations within reach of control-system compromise across multiple chains. The reporting does not establish a common access path or whether the affected systems share a flaw, so the extent of any exposure beyond the reported units remains unclear.
Hackers disrupt refrigeration systems at European supermarkets
A cyberattack on refrigeration systems has disrupted stores run by multiple supermarket chains across several European countries after hackers remotely changed temperature settings on freezers and cooling systems.