Cyber attack on supermarket refrigerators in Europe

Cyber ​​attacks on supermarket refrigerators in Europe have started again in the second wave. The attacks are thought to have hit dozens of stores in Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg and Sweden. The temperature of the coolers rose, so the food on the shelves spoiled. Moreover, the incident was not limited to a single country.

The temperature of coolers rose in the four affected countries. However, the real loss occurred in spoiled food. Additionally, the incident came after attacks in France. That's why it is called the second wave.

Ahold Delhaize and Colruyt confirm cyber attack on supermarket refrigerators

Giant grocery chains Ahold Delhaize and Colruyt confirmed the hacking incidents at night. A Belgian company speaking to Reuters said that it operates Delhaize's systems. According to the company, the attackers changed the settings to defrost.

Because of this, stores suffered heavy food losses. Products that dissolved or became unconsumable went to waste. Because the cyber attack on supermarket refrigerators directly increased the refrigerator temperature. However, the loss did not stop with a single store, it spread to dozens of stores.

Attacks in France and Danfoss devices

These attacks are a continuation of the events that took place in France last month. Temperatures were deliberately raised in hundreds of markets in France. According to security researchers, the problem was caused by internet-connected refrigerators from Danish Danfoss. Moreover, the company was no longer providing security updates to these devices.

Security company Claroty announced in August that these units carry the risk of remote attacks and interruptions. So the risk was known in advance. In addition, this warning becomes more important with the information that the devices do not receive updates.

Threat to the food supply chain

These incidents show that cyber attacks can have real-world consequences, too. Especially weak or overlooked security practices are the main reason for this. For example, the attack on food distribution giant UNFI in 2025 led to empty grocery shelves and food shortages in the USA.

These examples show that the food supply chain is vulnerable to cyber attacks. Because when coolers are connected to the internet, remote intervention becomes possible. As a matter of fact, in France, the problem was caused by refrigerators connected to the internet. Moreover, cyber attacks on supermarket refrigerators came to the fore again with the second wave.

On the other hand, US Department of Defense officials are investigating whether freezing units at military bases were taken over by Iranian-backed hackers. Iranian hackers were also accused of attacks on water providers in the United States earlier this year.