A cyber-attack on refrigeration systems hit dozens of supermarkets and other shops in seven European countries on Monday, forcing some stores to throw out stock after fridges and freezers warmed up.
About 40 Delhaize supermarkets in Belgium and Luxembourg were affected. Stores in Sweden, Ireland, the Netherlands, Estonia and Finland also reported problems, though in smaller numbers. Temperatures in some units reportedly climbed as high as 50C (122F). Who is behind the attack is unclear.
Sabcobel, a Belgian company that makes some of the affected refrigerators, said the units' evaporators were switched to defrost mode, which made them heat up. The company believes the method matches the one used in an incident last month that hit hundreds of French supermarkets.
Stephan Moelans, Sabcobel's CEO, told the Belga news agency the firm had worked through the night and morning to disconnect affected units from the network. He said that since the French attack in early October, the company had been trying to protect customers' fridges against the vulnerability, but that the units needed physical modifications, not just software updates.
"The simplest solution is to manage the fridges over a secure internet connection. Most of our customers switched to that after the attack in France," Moelans said.
A Delhaize branch in Hoeilaart, in Flanders, told the news website Het Laatste Nieuws it had lost €100,000 (£83,500) worth of produce. The manager said that figure did not include further losses from closing the shop.
Carrefour said 15 of its Belgian stores were affected and that measures were taken immediately to keep all shops open. A Colruyt Group spokesperson told Reuters five Spar stores operating under its franchise system in Belgium had fridge systems attacked. Ikea said refrigeration at its store in Mons, Belgium, was affected, and a spokesman told Reuters the company could not rule out other locations being hit.
In Sweden, several ICA and Coop shops were affected. ICA said a small number of stores operating outside its central network were hit and that it was supporting them. An ICA branch in Sjöbo wrote on social media that its refrigerators and freezers had been hacked overnight and set to 50 degrees; the store has since reopened. Coop told the BBC seven of its 800 Swedish stores were affected and the situation was contained.
In Ireland, 13 SuperValu supermarkets were affected, according to the chain's owner, Musgrave Group, which told The Irish Times the impact was limited to a specific model of refrigerator. Danfoss told Dutch public radio channel NOS that cooling systems at at least 17 companies in the Netherlands were attacked overnight, including butcher shops and small neighbourhood stores. Kesko, owner of Finland's K-stores, said its security experts were investigating, according to Helsingin Sanomat. ERR reported a Selver supermarket in Estonia was affected.
Belgium's and Sweden's national cyber-security agencies said they were monitoring the incident. The UK's National Cyber Security Centre said it was working with international partners and industry to understand the incident. No incidents have been reported in the UK.
In the United States, authorities are investigating refrigeration malfunctions at several military bases in August and are working with French officials to examine whether the incidents are linked.
Comments (0)
Please log in to comment.
No comments yet.