Hackers Hijack Supermarket Refrigeration in Belgium and Sweden, Spoiling Food

Cyberattacks disrupted supermarket refrigeration systems in Belgium and Sweden, with reported temperatures reaching 50–55°C and destroying food stocks. Attackers reportedly activated built-in defrost functions and overrode temperature and duration settings. Reported affected chains include Delhaize, Carrefour and Spar in Belgium, and several ICA supermarkets and six Coop stores in Sweden. Belgian refrigeration fitter Sabcobel estimated at least 20 units were affected nationwide. Swedish stores discarded spoiled stock and restored cooling, while ICA’s Sjöbo location temporarily closed.

ICA said affected shops used connections outside its central network; the incidents do not establish a breach of its central systems. The attackers, initial entry point and exploited vulnerability remain unidentified, and no connection has been confirmed to similar refrigeration-controller compromises in France in October. CERT-FR recommends removing controllers from public internet access, securing remote access, checking settings, updating firmware and changing default passwords. Sabcobel said physical modifications were needed to address the vulnerability affecting its installations and recommended a secure internet connection as an interim measure.