European grocery chains’ freezers and refrigerators targeted in apparent cyberattacks as food spoils
Refrigeration systems disrupted
Incidents at grocery stores in several European countries appear to involve cyberattacks on refrigeration systems. The reported attacks changed how freezers and refrigerators operated, and companies said food spoiled as a result.
Statements obtained by ABC News indicated that only a limited number of locations in each chain were affected. The apparent targets were smaller stores.
Chains report affected locations
A Coop spokesperson said the situation was “contained and under control.” The company said the incident happened before a planned system upgrade, which had been in development after a similar problem at French grocery stores the previous month. Carrefour said 15 of its 700 stores were affected, with a spokesperson describing the impact as “very limited.” The spokesperson said all stores remained open because only a few refrigeration units, mainly freezers, were involved.
Musgrave, which owns Irish chain SuperValu, told RTÉ that 13 stores were affected by a suspected cyberattack involving a particular refrigeration model. An ICA store in Sjöbo, Sweden, also posted that its refrigerators and freezers had been hacked overnight and set to 50 degrees.
Earlier cases raise concerns
In France last month, hundreds of stores reportedly had fridges and freezers hacked, with temperatures set to 50 degrees Celsius, or 122 degrees Fahrenheit. Most of the systems targeted in those incidents were reportedly using outdated software.
Reuters reported that similar attacks affected at least six U.S. military commissaries in August. The Pentagon is investigating those incidents, which were described as resembling the European attacks, including the October cases in France.
Key points
- Apparent cyberattacks changed refrigeration settings and caused food spoilage in European grocery stores.
- Carrefour reported 15 affected stores out of 700; Musgrave said 13 SuperValu stores were affected.
- French stores faced similar incidents last month, with temperatures reportedly set to 50 degrees Celsius.
- Reuters reported similar attacks at at least six U.S. military commissaries in August.