Fridge Hacks Hit Supermarkets Across Europe, Spoiling Food and Raising Alarm

A hacking attack spread across Europe on Monday, hitting fridges and freezers in stores from Sweden to Belgium. Dozens of stores saw refrigeration temperatures rise, and food had to be thrown away. Affected groups included Ahold Delhaize and Colruyt in Belgium and Luxembourg, and Swedish grocers ICA and Coop. At least one IKEA store was also affected.

An ICA franchise manager in Stockholm said the attack began at 2am but was only noticed hours later, and that freezers reached 50 degrees Celsius. ICA said a limited number of stores were affected overnight. The incidents follow an attack in France last month, where police said hackers took control of cooling units at hundreds of supermarkets, causing fires and food losses. Ahold also reported a cybersecurity incident to police last month.

No one has claimed responsibility, and Reuters could not establish who was behind Monday's attacks or whether they were linked to the French incident. Authorities are concerned about hybrid threats to infrastructure amid security tensions since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, though Moscow has denied involvement in sabotage. Belgium's Centre for Cybersecurity said the culprit may never be known, and warned that AI can now be used to exploit weaknesses, especially by sophisticated actors. Devices once largely mechanical, such as fridges, heating systems, cameras and alarms, can now be controlled remotely, creating new openings for criminals.