Grocery stores in Europe report fridge and freezer temperature spikes as apparent cyberattacks continue
Dutch chain responds to incident
Reuters reported that Dutch chain Ahold had notified police in October after detecting suspicious activity in its infrastructure. Delhaize spokesperson Sarah De Meester told Reuters the chain noticed cooling-system temperature increases on Monday.
Stephan Moelans told Belga technicians began responding at 1 a.m. and worked to disconnect affected units from the network. He said many units would need physical modifications, which require investment, despite efforts to protect customers' fridges from the vulnerability.
Swedish stores discard food
A handful of Swedish supermarkets also reported refrigerator and freezer temperatures rising early Monday. ICA and Coop told AFP they had no immediate information indicating their systems had been subjected to a cyberattack.
Coop said six of its roughly 800 Swedish stores had equipment problems and discarded food. Company spokesman Carlos Cancino said some units stopped working, while others were partly impaired; he said he had received no information that the cause was a cyberattack.
Cause remains unconfirmed
ICA spokesperson Helena Johansson told AFP the company was investigating what happened and how widespread it was, while focusing on helping affected stores. The reports do not establish that the Swedish disruptions were cyberattacks.
No one has claimed responsibility for a hack targeting grocery retailers in Europe. Last month, Cooperative U chief executive Dominique Schelcher called attacks on equipment needed to preserve fresh food and support France's food supply extremely serious and unprecedented.
Key points
- Chains in at least three European countries reported cooling-system temperature problems Monday.
- Coop said six Swedish stores discarded food after fridge and freezer failures.
- Ahold had reported suspicious infrastructure activity to Dutch police in October.
- No one has claimed responsibility for a hack targeting European grocery retailers.