Widespread Hacking Operations Target Refrigeration Units in European Markets: What Is the Story?

Major stores in 5 European countries witnessed disturbances in refrigeration and freezing systems, amid suspicions that they were subjected to cyberattacks targeting temperature control units. This prompted commercial chains to discard quantities of chilled and frozen foods and remove them from sales shelves as a precautionary measure.

According to a report published by "Bloomberg", the incidents included: Belgium, Ireland, Sweden, Finland, and Estonia, affecting stores belonging to major commercial chains, including "Ahold Delhaize", "Carrefour", and "Spar", amidst investigations to determine the causes of the disturbances and whether they resulted from coordinated cyberattacks.

The Dutch company "Ahold Delhaize" reported an "IT-related incident" at several of its "Delhaize" stores in Belgium on Sunday evening, which affected refrigeration systems.

For its part, "Carrefour Belgium" stated that the problem affected 15 out of the 700 stores it operates in the country, while "Spar" clarified that refrigeration systems malfunctioned in about 5 of its stores.

In Ireland, the "Musgrave Group" announced that refrigeration systems suffered a cyber incident affecting 13 stores in the "SuperValu" chain, noting the removal of chilled and frozen products from affected stores and preventing their sale as a precautionary measure.

Sweden, Finland, and Estonia within the scope of incidents
In Sweden, stores belonging to the "ICA" and "Coop" chains recorded a rise in the temperature of freezer units, while the "Coop" chain announced that 7 of its stores were hacked.

A spokesperson for "ICA Sweden" said that a limited number of stores were affected by an incident that occurred overnight, impacting refrigeration and freezing systems, confirming that the company is providing support to affected stores to handle the situation, but did not confirm that the incident was caused by a cyberattack.

In one "ICA Kvantum" store in the city of Sjobo, the temperature of freezer units rose to 50 degrees Celsius, according to a post by the store on its "Facebook" page, where it indicated suspicion of being hacked.

Images from one store in the capital Stockholm showed the disposal of spoiled food products after the failure of refrigeration units.

As for Finland, small stores belonging to the "K-food" chain reported disturbances in the temperatures of some refrigeration equipment overnight.

Petri Kaihu, Head of Corporate Security at the "Kesko" group, the second-largest grocery chain in Finland, said that the company began investigating the causes of the incident after receiving automated alerts, and following the arrival of employees at the stores in the morning.

He clarified that the possibility of an IT-related incident was not ruled out, but he stressed that the problem was not widespread and was limited to a few small stores whose equipment does not include the group's central protection systems.

In Estonia, the "Selver" supermarket chain faced the problem in its only store still using an old refrigeration control system produced by "Danfoss", before the fault was resolved within minutes, according to what was reported by the local broadcasting authority "ERR".

Similarity to previous attacks in France
The recent incidents raise fears of a recurrence of cyberattacks that targeted refrigeration systems in European stores last October/November, when approximately 700 stores in France were attacked, disabling refrigeration systems and forcing stores to dispose of spoiled food.

The French attacks included the "Intermarché", "Coopérative U", and "Carrefour" chains, while no party claimed responsibility for those attacks.

"Bloomberg" quoted a spokesperson for the Danish company "Danfoss", specialized in manufacturing refrigeration systems, saying that the incidents witnessed in European countries relate to the company's products, as happened in France last month.

The report indicated that the hacked equipment may remain vulnerable to threats if it runs on outdated software that cannot be updated or have security vulnerabilities patched, raising questions about the level of digital protection for refrigeration systems used in the retail sector.

Last month, "Ahold Delhaize" had experienced a cyberattack that led to service disruptions in its stores in the Netherlands for days, with empty product shelves appearing, but it has not yet revealed the cause of that problem.

In the United States, the Pentagon announced last week that it is investigating the failure of freezer units dedicated to storing food in several military facilities, an incident that adds another dimension to concerns regarding the security of refrigeration and control systems.

These incidents highlight the risks that food supply chains may face when refrigeration systems, upon which stores rely to preserve products, become susceptible to malfunctions or cyber breaches, as a temperature fluctuation can lead to the spoilage of a wide food inventory, even without targeting payment systems or customer databases.