Supermarket Freezer Cyberattack Hits Shops in Seven European Countries

Dozens of supermarkets across seven European countries have been hit by a suspected cyber-attack that switched off their refrigeration, spoiling millions of euros worth of food, the BBC reported on Monday. The supermarket freezer cyberattack struck stores in Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden, Ireland, the Netherlands, Estonia and Finland overnight, with around 40 Delhaize supermarkets in Belgium and Luxembourg the worst affected.

Belgian refrigeration company Sabcobel, which operates systems for Delhaize, said the affected units had their evaporators switched into defrost mode, causing them to warm up. Freezer temperatures in several shops reportedly rose to as high as 50C (122F), and it is unclear who is behind the apparent attack.

FAKTA

• Supermarkets in seven European countries — Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden, Ireland, the Netherlands, Estonia and Finland — were hit overnight.
• Around 40 Delhaize supermarkets in Belgium and Luxembourg were affected, plus smaller numbers of shops elsewhere.
• Sabcobel says the units’ evaporators were switched into defrost mode, warming them up — the same method believed used in an attack on hundreds of French supermarkets in early October.
• Freezer temperatures reportedly rose to as high as 50C, and millions of euros worth of food had to be thrown away.
• Belgium’s and Sweden’s national cyber-security agencies are monitoring the incident; the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre says no incidents have been reported in the UK.
• It is unclear who is behind the apparent attack.

How the supermarket freezer cyberattack unfolded

Sabcobel chief executive Stephan Moelans told the Belga news agency that the incident was a cyber-attack, and that the company had been working all night and morning to disconnect the affected units from the network. He said that since the French attack in early October, the company had been working to protect customers’ fridges against the vulnerability, but that physical modifications, not just software updates, were needed.

Most supermarkets across Europe are linked to the internet, allowing maintenance and troubleshooting to be done remotely. Moelans said the simplest solution is to manage fridges over a secure internet connection, and that most customers switched to that after the attack in France.

Stores hit across Europe

In Belgium, a Delhaize branch in Hoeilaart, Flanders, told Het Laatste Nieuws it had lost 100,000 euros worth of produce, not counting further losses from closing the shop. Carrefour said the incident affected only 15 of its Belgian stores and that all its shops remained open, while the Colruyt Group told Reuters that five Spar shops had their fridge systems attacked.

In Sweden, several ICA and Coop shops were hit. An ICA branch in Sjobo, in the south of the country, wrote on social media that its refrigerators and freezers had been hacked overnight and set to 50 degrees; the store closed earlier but has since reopened. Coop said seven of its 800 stores were affected but that the situation was contained and under control.

In Ireland, 13 SuperValu supermarkets were affected. The Musgrave Group, which owns the chain, confirmed to The Irish Times that a cyber incident had affected refrigeration systems, but said the effect was limited to one specific model of refrigerator.

In the Netherlands, Danish manufacturer Danfoss told Dutch public radio NOS that the freezing and cooling systems of at least 17 companies had been attacked overnight, including butcher shops and small local stores. In Estonia, a Selver supermarket was affected, with reports of other companies hit as well, according to public broadcaster ERR. In Finland, refrigerator malfunctions were detected in some K-stores, whose owner Kesko said its security experts were investigating the cause, according to Helsingin Sanomat.

Echoes of the French supermarket attack

The incident follows a similar attack in early October in which hackers seized control of cooling units at hundreds of French supermarkets, remotely overriding settings on thousands of freezers, fridges and chiller cabinets. That attack prompted a formal investigation by the Paris prosecutor’s office, and France’s national cyber-security agency was instructed to investigate.

Belgium’s and Sweden’s national cyber-security agencies said they were monitoring the latest incident. The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre said it was working with international partners and industry to fully understand details of an incident, while confirming that no incidents had been reported in the UK.

More technology news is available on Watan News’ technology pages.