Europe hit by another wave of grocery store freezer hacks
Supermarkets in Sweden and Belgium are reporting unauthorized access to their refrigeration systems, leading to temperature spikes and food waste. These incidents follow a similar cyberattack on French grocery stores last month.
Why it matters
The targeting of critical infrastructure like food supply chains highlights growing vulnerabilities in IoT-connected industrial systems.
Supermarkets in Sweden and Belgium have experienced refrigeration issues. JONAS EKSTROMER/TT NEWS AGENCY/AFP via Getty Images ICA and Coop confirmed cooling problems at several Swedish stores. Delhaize said an "IT incident" affected refrigeration at some of its Belgian stores. The issues echo a cyberattack that hit French supermarkets last month. Grocery stores in Sweden and Belgium have reported rising temperatures in some of their refrigeration systems, suspected to be the result of hacks, weeks after a cyberattack on fridges and freezers in France that forced supermarkets to throw away food. "Unauthorized actors were able to access and tamper with the cooling systems at a small fraction of our stores," a spokesperson at Swedish supermarket chain Coop confirmed to Business Insider. They said that seven out of its more than 800 stores were affected overnight and into Monday. "The situation is currently contained and under control," they added.
Headlinne story · 3 newsrooms
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What every outlet reported, where they differ, and how each framed it →
Also covering this story
6 other newsrooms covered this event. We read each version separately.
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