Swedish chain Ica Kvantum discovered its freezers had been pushed to 50 degrees Celsius, a move that would render stock unsalvageable. Similarly, Coop confirmed that intruders breached the cooling systems of a small fraction of its Swedish locations. In Belgium and Luxembourg, Ahold Delhaize attributed an 'IT incident' to similar unauthorized adjustments across dozens of its stores.
Hackers target European supermarket refrigeration systems
Temperature settings in grocery store freezers across Europe are being remotely manipulated by unauthorized actors, causing deep concerns over the vulnerability of food supply chains. Retailers in Belgium, Sweden, Luxembourg, and Estonia report that cooling units were tampered with overnight, forcing a scramble to prevent mass food spoilage.
The convenience of internet-connected appliances, originally designed for remote maintenance and automated failure alerts, has become a liability. These attacks mirror a surge in digital sabotage targeting food infrastructure, including a massive breach last month that affected hundreds of French supermarket refrigerators and caused millions of Euros in losses. This pattern of disruption extends beyond the private sector, following reports of unexplained freezer malfunctions at several US military bases.
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