In the UK and the UK, the refrigerator temperature is 50 degrees... Hacking of supermarkets in 11 European countries

Last month, a hacking incident in which French supermarkets manipulated refrigerator temperatures to 50 degrees spread to 11 European countries, increasing confusion and anxiety.

As supermarket refrigeration systems in the UK, Germany, and Italy have also suffered cyber attacks, companies in each country are rushing to prevent damage by upgrading their security systems.

According to foreign media such as Reuters and AFP on the 3rd (local time), refrigerator hacking incidents at supermarket chains and other companies have been reported in at least 11 countries.

The previous day, cases of refrigerator and freezer temperatures soaring due to cyber attacks were reported in Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden, Estonia, and Ireland, and similar cases have spread to Western and Southern Europe.

According to foreign media, about 20 supermarket stores across Italy were damaged by hacking.

The CEO of a company that runs the Coop supermarket in Sicily said that four of its 300 stores had been hacked and that "the damage is estimated to be in the thousands of euros as all products have to be destroyed."

The Italian government said the impact was still "limited" and that only stores with older security systems were affected.

In the UK, small meat processing companies have been targeted.

The UK's independent meat supplier told the BBC that freezers at two of its members began to melt, while temperatures in refrigeration units at another soared.

Four supermarket stores in Germany and six in Romania were damaged.

The refrigerator hacking incident first began in France in the middle of last month.

A cyber attack occurred that raised the temperature of several companies' supermarket refrigerators to 50 degrees, causing damage to more than 700 stores. Within 15 days, similar cases spread to various European countries, including Belgium, Luxembourg, and Sweden.

The area that suffered the most damage was Belgium, where refrigerator equipment at dozens of supermarket chain stores broke down between the night of the 1st and the early morning of the 2nd, and local prosecutors began an investigation.

As the damage spread, supermarket companies in various European countries began strengthening their security systems.

As the targeted systems have been confirmed to be outdated, this is a measure to prevent further damage by upgrading vulnerable technologies.

In particular, there were many cases where refrigeration equipment was connected to the Internet to remotely control it, but it is also possible that security patches were not upgraded in time.

That's why software provider Danfoss advised customers to disconnect from the Internet until they check the refrigerator's control status and upgrade security patches.

Another factor is that most supermarkets in Europe are operated in a cooperative manner, so each store has a different system.

The European Union (EU) defined this incident as a deliberate attempt to disrupt the food supply chain and began preparing a joint response plan.

EU spokesman Thomas Regnier said, "This is not an isolated incident and we must prepare jointly," and said they were discussing a joint response plan with each country.

Some warn that hacking attacks targeting outdated technologies may become more frequent in the future, and that this situation is impossible to begin with.

Richard Horn, of the UK's National Cyber ​​Security Center (NCSC), said there were "numerous vulnerabilities" and that this incident was "just the beginning."

As the capabilities of hackers are strengthening due to the development of artificial intelligence (AI), finding and exploiting vulnerabilities in old technologies may become more frequent.

He pointed out, “This is not because AI has discovered new attack methods, but because security vulnerabilities that have been neglected for a long time are being discovered on an unimaginable scale.”

According to foreign media, the attacker and motive for this incident have not yet been confirmed.

However, Dan Chimpean, director of Romania's National Cyber ​​Security Service (DNSC), told AFP that the attack "appears to be somewhat amateurish" and that he "does not suspect the possibility that state-level actors were involved."