Arabic version: متاجر سوبرماركت أوروبية تبلغ عن هجمات سيبرانية على أنظمة التبريد

According to Cnbc, supermarkets in several European countries were hit Monday by cyberattacks affecting refrigeration systems. The incidents remotely raised temperatures in fridges and freezers, forcing some retailers to discard food and renewing concerns about food security and vulnerable critical infrastructure.

Ahold Delhaize said dozens of Delhaize stores in Belgium and Luxembourg experienced an incident involving refrigeration systems. The company said food had to be discarded, but that operations had returned to normal and stores were fully operational. Colruyt Group said five Spar stores in Belgium were targeted, while Carrefour said 15 Belgian stores were attacked. Intermarché said 15 of its 153 Belgian stores were affected.

IKEA said refrigerators and freezers at its Mons store in Belgium were affected between Sunday and Monday. The store remained open while the company inspected equipment, products and installations at other Belgian locations. ICA, Sweden’s largest grocery retailer, reported an incident at a limited number of stores operating on networks outside its central systems. Kesko in Finland, Supervalu in Ireland and One Selver in Estonia also reported refrigeration disruptions.

The European Commission said it was in direct contact with national authorities and had convened an EU interinstitutional task force meeting with ENISA, Europol and relevant Commission services. The attacks have not been claimed, and investigations remain under way. They follow an October cyberattack that affected hundreds of French supermarkets, causing fridges to overheat, food to spoil and, in some cases, fires.

Cybersecurity specialists said exposed, remotely managed refrigeration controls can create major physical disruption without highly sophisticated methods. Sophos’ Rafe Pilling said attackers may seek visibility as well as financial damage because empty supermarket shelves can heighten public concern. Fredrik Blix of Visente AB said some refrigerator control units were directly accessible from the public internet and that thousands had not received an August patch.