Five answers about the suspected hacker attack on grocery stores

How could this happen?

The Swedish Coop and Ica stores affected have not yet confirmed whether it is a hacker attack. However, according to Emil Olofsson, cybersecurity expert at Integrity360, it is very likely.

The same problem hit several French stores a few weeks ago. The stores used freezers and refrigerators with control systems from the Danish company Danfoss, which are connected to the internet. A vulnerability in the system allowed people to hack into a mode where the temperature could be changed.

- You only had to take a step into the system to gain access to the administrator interface where you can control the temperature, says Emil Olofsson.

Why do something like this?

Hacker attacks are usually divided into three groups. Either the purpose is economic, governmental or political. In economic attacks, the hackers usually demand money, in government attacks it is often about creating unrest in society and in political attacks it is usually some form of activism, where a group takes responsibility for the action and explains why it was carried out.

The attacks on grocery stores do not fit into any of the categories, according to Emil Olofsson. He rather believes that in this case it is about amateurs.

- Technically, it is a relatively simple attack that has been carried out. It does not require such large funds, he says and continues:

- It can be something more amateurish, that it is someone who has tested and managed to get into the system. Maybe it's because you're interested or think it's exciting and fun.

Is the same group behind all the attacks?

It is likely that the attacks were carried out in the same way, according to the cyber security expert. But it does not have to be the same people behind all incidents. Instead, different people or groups may have been inspired by each other.

- If you read about events like this on the news, you can then go out and look for a product like this yourself and try to imitate the attack, says Emil Olofsson.

Can you identify who did it?

The short answer is yes. The slightly longer answer is yes, but it is costly and resource-intensive.

- If you really want to go back, you can basically always find who has done it. But it requires very large resources and it is perhaps not something that is so important to know, says Emil Olofsson.

Should we stop connecting this type of system to the internet?

Digitization has led to several systems in society working better and simpler. The advantages are many - but there are also risks, the expert states.

- Safety should not be a brake pad, but we need to ensure that we do things in a safe way, says Emil Olofsson.

- It is important that you are risk-aware and make a risk assessment for everything you choose to implement. If it is done in a safe way from the beginning, there is less risk of this type of event happening.