Swedish grocer Coop has disconnected refrigeration systems at seven affected stores after cyberattacks disrupted supermarkets across eight European countries.
Reuters reported the attacks occurred Nov. 2, in a second wave following an earlier incident at dozens of French supermarkets roughly three weeks before. The latest attacks build on earlier EconoTimes reporting on refrigeration incidents at grocers in five European countries.
Swedish chain Coop said seven affected stores had resumed business, but their cooling equipment remained disconnected from the internet. The chain is shifting from 4G links to 5G and newer modems, a change it began after the French incident.
ICA said equipment at all 23 affected stores was connected outside its centrally managed store network. Reuters reported that Carrefour had 15 franchised stores hit in Belgium on Nov. 2, following an earlier attack on 80 franchised locations in France.
Ireland’s SuperValu said refrigeration systems for a specific model were affected at 13 of its 223 stores, and chilled and frozen goods were removed from sale. Edeka told Reuters that refrigeration equipment was hacked at a store in Reisbach, Germany. The company said its independent retailers use different refrigeration systems.
Reuters said many European grocers have independent owners, leaving stores with different equipment setups. Danfoss, the software provider whose systems were targeted again, said it had been helping customers and advised against making refrigeration controls directly accessible online.
Frank Groenewegen, a cybersecurity expert at Deloitte in The Hague, said retailers should check whether controllers are exposed online, install available security updates and remove devices from the public internet if their status is unknown. He said disconnecting equipment can block attackers’ access but does not resolve the underlying weakness.
The European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) said the attacks in multiple member states showed the need for faster information-sharing and coordinated responses. Richard Horne, chief executive of Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), said the agency was helping organizations find vulnerabilities before attackers exploit them. Horne said the incidents may foreshadow more frequent disruptions as aging systems struggle to match attackers’ capabilities.
