Cyber attacks on cooling systems in German supermarkets too

Following the recent hacker attacks on refrigeration systems in European supermarkets, cases have now also been reported in North Rhine-Westphalia and Bavaria. Two CAP supermarkets in Wuppertal and Wetter-Volmarstein (Ennepe-Ruhr district), a Rewe supermarket in Raesfeld in Münsterland and an Edeka branch in Reisbach, Lower Bavaria are affected.

The cooling systems in all supermarkets were switched from cooling to heating at night. As a result, large quantities of food had to be thrown away.

Refrigerated shelves and storage areas affected

A department head of the Arbeiterwohlfahrt (AWO), operator of the CAP markets, confirmed the attack in Wetter-Volmarstein to the dpa news agency. Refrigerated shelves as well as storage areas outside are affected. The actual attack was on the company that maintains the cooling systems remotely. The amount of damage cannot yet be quantified.

The CAP supermarket in Wuppertal wrote on Facebook: "Unfortunately, external access over the weekend meant that our freezer and cooling systems were too warm this morning."

Criminal police are investigating in Bavaria

The operator of the Edeka branch in Lower Bavaria told Bayerischer Rundfunk that the supermarket's cooling systems had been switched to "50 degrees heat" during the night. Foodsharing picked up “everything that could somehow be saved”. However, the majority of the goods had to be disposed of.

According to the Lower Bavaria Police Headquarters, the criminal police in Landshut, Bavaria, are investigating the incident in Reisbach on suspicion of spying on data and data alteration. According to a spokesman, this will also coordinate with the authorities in other countries.

Hundreds of cases in different countries

In recent days, cyber criminals have hacked cooling systems in supermarkets and changed the temperatures in Belgium, Sweden, Ireland, Luxembourg, Estonia, Finland and the Netherlands, among others.

Three weeks ago, the cooling systems in hundreds of branches of the Intermarché and Coopérative U supermarket chains were paralyzed. All chilled and frozen goods had to be destroyed. No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attacks.

EU Agriculture Commissioner Christophe Hansen spoke of the incidents as a “deliberate attempt to interrupt our food chain and undermine consumer trust in it”. The repeated occurrence of these cyberattacks is “deeply concerning.” The attacks were taken “very seriously,” Hansen continued. Nevertheless, food safety in Europe is currently not at risk.