In brief
Cyber incidents targeted refrigeration systems at supermarkets in several European countries, forcing chains such as SuperValu, Axfood, ICA, Coop, Delhaize, and Colruyt to pull perishable goods from sale. The attacks raise concerns over food safety and supply‑chain stability, with authorities investigating whether they are linked to a major French breach in October.
On Monday, a cyber incident disrupted refrigeration systems at 13 SuperValu stores in Ireland and triggered similar failures in supermarkets across Sweden, Belgium, and Luxembourg, according to a Xinhua report.
Musgrave Group, which owns SuperValu, said the problem involved a specific model of refrigeration equipment. The chain immediately removed chilled and frozen items from its shelves as a precaution, while other products remained available.
Our monitoring systems alerted us to the issue and we took immediate action.
In Sweden, Axfood’s freezer systems at a distribution centre that delivers groceries were hacked. Other chains, ICA and Coop, also reported overnight refrigeration problems, with Coop seeing six of its stores affected and ICA noting a limited number of incidents. One ICA store even reported its temperatures being set to 50 degrees Celsius after a suspected cyberattack.
Delhaize in Belgium said an IT incident had hit refrigeration systems at dozens of stores, while the Colruyt Group reported attacks on five Spar outlets. The incidents followed a major French attack in October that forced hundreds of supermarkets to shut down their refrigeration, causing large food losses and, in some cases, fires.
Authorities have not yet determined whether the latest disruptions across Europe are connected or who is responsible. The incidents underscore the risks to food safety and the broader supply chain in a retail environment increasingly reliant on digital controls.
