Mystery hackers have launched a chilling attack on Europe’s food supply, seizing control of supermarket fridges and freezers in the dead of night and cranking the temperature up until the food inside was destroyed.
And Ireland has NOT escaped. Wholesaler Musgrave confirmed that 13 SuperValu stores were hit by what it called a “cyber incident”, forcing staff to pull chilled and frozen food from the shelves.
The EU’s food commissioner Christophe Hansen has branded the attacks “a deliberate attempt to disrupt our food supply chain”.
Freezers set to 50°C
The attackers struck in the early hours of Monday, 2 November. Engineers say they remotely switched the units into defrost mode, warming fridges and freezers overnight. By the time staff arrived in the morning, the damage was done.
In Sweden, a shop manager in Stockholm told Reuters that all her freezers had reached 50 degrees and “everything is destroyed”. In Estonia, public broadcaster ERR reported hackers pushed refrigeration units to 50°C at a supermarket there.
Millions of euros worth of food has had to be thrown out across the continent.
Nine countries hit
- Ireland: 13 SuperValu stores
- Belgium: dozens of stores including Carrefour, Delhaize, Colruyt, Spar, Intermarché and IKEA’s Mons store
- Luxembourg: four Delhaize stores
- Sweden: Coop and ICA stores
- Italy: at least four Coop supermarkets in Sicily
- Portugal: seven Intermarché stores
- Netherlands, Finland and Estonia: smaller shops and supermarkets
Second attack in a month
This is the SECOND time in weeks. In mid-October, hackers took over cooling units at hundreds of supermarkets in France, spoiling food and even causing fires at several stores.
At least some of the units hit this time used temperature controls from Danish firm Danfoss, the same technology targeted in France. Experts say many older systems were left exposed to the internet, in some cases with default passwords.
Who is behind it?
Nobody has claimed responsibility, and there have been no ransom demands, which security experts say points towards sabotage rather than criminals chasing cash.
The attacks have fuelled fears of “hybrid warfare” against Europe. Several European states have blamed Moscow for a string of attacks on infrastructure in recent months, though there is no evidence publicly linking Russia to the supermarket attacks and the Kremlin has repeatedly denied any involvement in sabotage.
Belgian federal prosecutors have opened an investigation, and Italy’s government held an emergency cybersecurity meeting with its intelligence services. Belgium’s cybersecurity centre warned it may never be known who did it.
Europe on edge
The fridge attacks come in a nervy week for security across Europe. In a separate case, Russia’s FSB security service said it detained a teenager accused of planning a terror attack on the Tsaritsyno Palace museum in Moscow, after a tip-off from the United States. The palace complex was evacuated and events there were cancelled.
There is no suggestion the two incidents are connected.
Is my food safe?
Musgrave said its monitoring systems alerted it to the problem, it took immediate action, and affected products were removed from sale. Its investigation is ongoing. If you’re ever unsure about chilled or frozen food that looks or smells off, don’t eat it and return it to the shop.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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