Europe on alert after supermarket freezers hit by cyber-attacks in nine countries

What the report says

European Union officials are warning of a deliberate attempt to disrupt food supply chains after cyber-attacks affected supermarket refrigeration systems in at least nine European countries, according to BBC World News. The incidents were reported on Monday in Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden, with some stores forced to throw away food after freezer and fridge temperatures rose sharply.

BBC reported that temperatures in some affected systems reportedly climbed as high as 50C, leading to investigations in several countries. No group has publicly claimed responsibility. The bloc’s food and agriculture commissioner, Christophe Hansen, said the cases were being taken very seriously, while an EU spokesman said they showed how cyber-attacks can disrupt essential services and daily life.

The report says the attacks follow a separate cyber-incident three weeks earlier that disrupted as many as 700 grocery stores in France. In Italy, authorities said the impact was limited overall, though several Co-op stores in Sicily and one business in Tuscany were affected. Belgian prosecutors opened an investigation, and retailers in Ireland, Portugal, Finland and Sweden also reported problems or were checking their systems.

BBC also noted that the incidents have increased concern about the security of remote-monitoring technology used in food retail and other critical services. In the UK, the National Cyber Security Centre urged retailers to update software on fridge controls and said it was working with organisations that may have exposed systems.