Hunt for fridge hackers, 'little damage but maximum attention'

The impact of the hacker attacks on the cold chain which also hit Italy "is currently highly limited": small businesses have been affected while the large chains, more technologically equipped, have held up. However, there is "maximum attention" on the threat.

The assurance comes from Palazzo Chigi, where the Authority delegated to national security, Alfredo Mantovano, chaired a meeting attended by the Minister of Agriculture, Francesco Lollobrigida, the top intelligence officials and the director of the National Cybersecurity Agency, Andrea Quacivi. The latter then called an urgent meeting with representatives of large-scale retail trade and the Ministry of Agriculture to strengthen collaboration and recall that "the timely sharing of information is an essential element to strengthen the ability to prevent and respond to cyber attacks".

The government aims to cool the temperature - it is appropriate to say - on the case. "There is no alarm", explain the Presidency of the Council. Few commercial businesses were affected, "mostly still equipped with obsolete security systems, with interfaces exposed directly on the internet and deficiencies in authentication mechanisms. The majority of the distribution chain is instead equipped with updated protection systems, capable of repelling malicious intrusions".

Furthermore, he continues, "no case of risk to the health of citizens attributable to thawing phenomena has emerged". The representatives of the sectors involved are on the same line. For Carlo Alberto Buttarelli, president of Federdistribuzione, there are "no critical issues in the distribution networks of our medium and large-sized companies and we continue to work in close synergy with the competent authorities to guarantee the safety of activities and full consumer protection".

The president of Federalimentare, Paolo Mascarino, also reassures: "Italian agri-food companies are fully operational and the continuity of food production and supplies is not in question". Consumers, however, are worried. For Adoc and Codacons there is a risk of food shortages, price increases and health dangers. Meanwhile, it is still unclear about the authors. There are those who hypothesize an act of hybrid war against Europe by Russia or another "state actor".

Today, according to Lollobrigida, "food returns to being not only a nutritional reality but also an improper weapon used in an increasingly complex hybrid war". But there is no attribution or claim at this time. It was discussed at Copasir, where the director of Aisi, Bruno Valensise, was heard and Quacivi is also expected tomorrow. For the Minister of the Interior, Matteo Piantedosi, it is "an initiative coordinated at European level by someone".

He added, "our technicians are at work, both from the Cybersecurity Agency and the experts from the Postal Police. We hope to see things clearly in a short time". Furthermore, cyber attacks on institutions and sectors such as healthcare and transport now occur daily: a few days ago some email accounts in the Chamber were hacked, including that of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. To get an idea of ​​the size of the threat, consider that in the first 9 months of 2026 the Cyber ​​Agency identified almost 45 thousand assets and services at risk with over 3,200 assets potentially compromised.

Companies and entities included in the national cybersecurity perimeter are required to have high defense standards, but the attacks on fridges affected entities outside the perimeter, which were more easily penetrable. Precisely for this reason the recommendation was made to be aware of the risks and to immediately adopt prevention and mitigation measures. In fact, the attackers exploit deficiencies in the authentication mechanisms, remotely access the controls of the fridges connected directly to the internet and raise the temperature causing the interruption of the cold chain.

And other companies affected in Italy are coming to light, after those that emerged yesterday (the collective catering company Siaf in the Florentine area and the Valpizza producer in Emilia Romagna): the Arena Group announces that 20 supermarkets in Sicily have been affected while Conad underlines that 3 sales points in Sicily and 2 in Veneto have been affected. Commercial businesses in Sardinia and Abruzzo are also interested.