Suspected hacker attack on supermarkets in Sweden, freezer at 50 degrees

A sudden rise in temperatures in the fridge and freezer counters of up to 50 degrees sent the refrigeration systems of numerous supermarkets in Sweden into a tailspin during the night, raising fears of a hacker attack similar to what happened in France on 12 October.

"We're emptying the freezers right now, there's not much else we can do," said Dennis Vidal, the manager of one of the shops in southern Sweden affected by the problem. "They are starting to cool down again, but everything is already ruined," he added, interviewed by public television, Svt.

Some supermarkets of the ICA and Coop chains remained closed in the early hours of this morning to manage the crisis, but currently there is no official confirmation of the cause but a hacker attack is feared: "We are aware of the fact that a limited number of stores were affected by an incident which occurred during the night which compromised the refrigeration and freezing systems of the points of sale", declared Gustaf Nilsson, spokesperson for the ICA Group supermarkets, reported by the TT news agency.