Suspected cyberattacks disrupt supermarket cooling systems in three countries

Supermarkets in Sweden, Belgium and Luxembourg have experienced sudden increases in refrigeration temperatures following possible cyberattacks. The incidents affected systems used to cool and freeze food, with Swedish retailers reporting overnight disruptions and similar temperature rises reported at dozens of stores in Belgium and Luxembourg.

John Billow, who heads Sweden’s national cybersecurity centre, told Reuters on Monday, November 2, that the centre was responding to several incidents involving supermarket cooling systems. Store operators ICA and Coop said freezer temperatures had climbed abruptly overnight at a number of their Swedish locations. The retailers’ accounts described disruptions affecting both refrigeration and freezer equipment.

ICA, a privately held retailer, acknowledged the disruption in an emailed response to Reuters. “We are aware that a limited number of stores were affected by an incident overnight, which impacted their refrigeration and freezer systems,” a company spokesperson said. The statement described the number of affected stores as limited without providing a specific figure.

Coop, which is also privately held, gave a more specific account of the extent of the disruption at its stores. The retailer told Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet that six locations had experienced similar incidents. Both companies’ reports concerned sudden overnight changes in the cooling systems operating at their stores.

In Belgium and Luxembourg, Belga news agency reported that temperatures had increased overnight at dozens of Ahold Delhaize supermarkets. Its report attributed the disruption to a cyberattack, citing Stephan Moelans, chief executive of refrigeration company Sabcobel. The reported incidents extended the refrigeration problems beyond the Swedish stores.

An Ahold Delhaize spokesperson had earlier described the problem affecting the chain’s refrigerators and freezers as an “IT incident.” The company is investigating. Ahold Delhaize also reported a cybersecurity incident to Dutch police last month, although the account did not establish a connection between that report and the refrigeration disruptions.

A cyberattack on refrigeration equipment at hundreds of supermarkets in France pushed refrigerator and freezer temperatures as high as 50 degrees Celsius, or 122 degrees Fahrenheit. Food spoiled as a result, and fires broke out at several stores.

In a social media post on Monday, one Swedish store said its refrigerator and freezer temperatures had been set to the same level as during the attack in France. The Swedish national cybersecurity centre’s response and Ahold Delhaize’s investigation come as the incidents are being examined as possible cyberattacks.