Technology · 2026-11-02 · Afternoon briefing
European supermarkets hit by second freezer cyber-attack
Supermarket chains across Sweden, Belgium, and Luxembourg are investigating a suspected cyber-attack after temperatures in refrigerators and freezers rose overnight. The chains ICA and Coop in Sweden, along with dozens of Ahold Delhaize stores in Belgium and Luxembourg, were affected. Technicians worked through the night to disconnect compromised systems from the grid.
The incident follows a larger attack in France in October that hit up to 700 supermarkets, including major retailers like Carrefour and Intermarché. In that event, hackers remotely disabled alarms and overrode cooling unit controllers, pushing temperatures from as low as -27C to over 50C. The resulting food spoilage cost some individual stores more than €130,000.
The French attack exploited controllers primarily supplied by the Danish firm Danfoss. The company stated it had identified the security flaws last year and had "long recommended" that customers install the necessary updates. France's prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, has ordered the national cybersecurity agency to investigate the breaches.
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- Europe hit by another wave of grocery store freezer hacks
- Freezers at supermarkets in several European countries hit by apparent cyberattacks
- Europe supermarket freezers cyberattack hits Belgium, Netherlands, Sweden, Luxembourg
- European supermarkets targeted in second reported cyberattack
- Second wave of suspected cyberattacks hits supermarket freezers across Europe
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