Supermarkets across Europe face a second wave of grocery cyberattacks on connected refrigeration systems, raising concerns about food safety, inventory losses and operational security.
For the second time in less than a month, European supermarkets are dealing with cyberattacks targeting their refrigeration equipment. And this time, the attacks are landing far beyond France.
The latest incidents have affected grocery stores in Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden, Estonia and Ireland. Attackers are reportedly manipulating refrigeration controls to raise temperatures and directly threaten thousands of dollars’ worth of perishable inventory.
We’re accustomed to hearing about cybercriminals stealing customer information, compromising payment systems or knocking websites offline. This is something different; an attack on the so-called “Internet of Things” (IOT) array of connected “smart” devices. Hackers are targeting the equipment that keeps food cold, with potentially immediate – and expensive – consequences.
In one particularly alarming incident, refrigeration controls were reportedly set to 50 degrees Celsius – that’s 122 degrees Fahrenheit. To be clear, there’s no indication the impacted food actually reached that temperature, but it illustrates in stark terms the damage potential when someone gains unauthorized access to connected store equipment.
Major European Retailers Affected
The list of affected retailers includes some of Europe’s biggest grocery operators.
In Belgium and Luxembourg, Ahold Delhaize’s Delhaize banner reported refrigeration disruptions across dozens of stores. Carrefour confirmed problems at 15 Belgian locations, while five Spar supermarkets were also affected.
Sweden’s ICA and Coop chains reported similar incidents. At one ICA location, attackers reportedly changed refrigeration settings remotely to 50 degrees Celsius.
In Estonia, technicians at a Selver supermarket caught an intrusion within minutes and intervened before significant damage occurred.
Ireland’s Musgrave reported problems at 13 SuperValu stores, where chilled and frozen merchandise was removed from sale.
The incidents follow a mid-October attack in France that reportedly affected hundreds of supermarkets. Some individual locations suffered six-figure inventory losses.
Authorities haven’t established that the two waves of attacks were carried out by the same perpetrators, although the reported methods are undeniably similar.
The Problem With Smart Refrigeration
The hackers apparently exploited a perfectly ordinary feature of commercial refrigeration equipment.
Modern systems use electronic controllers to regulate temperatures, compressors and defrost cycles. Many can be accessed remotely by maintenance contractors, equipment manufacturers or centralized facilities-management teams.
That’s certainly convenient. Technicians can diagnose problems without visiting a store, while operators can monitor equipment across hundreds of locations at once.
But, as with any computer system, inadequate security can turn remote access into immediate vulnerability. By manipulating defrost cycles or temperature settings, attackers can potentially cause refrigeration equipment to warm without ever entering the store.
As we’ve seen twice now, a refrigeration failure can spoil thousands of dollars’ worth of food in hours. Retailers also face emergency repairs, product disposal, lost sales, additional labor and potentially shuttered departments. They must determine whether food was exposed to unsafe temperatures and whether it can remain on sale.
That’s a lot of exposure from equipment most shoppers never give a second thought.
Ahold Delhaize Is Back in the Spotlight
The latest incidents are especially noteworthy because Ahold Delhaize has already had a difficult October on the cybersecurity front.
The company disclosed a separate incident Oct. 12 that disrupted websites and mobile applications at several U.S. banners, including Food Lion, Giant Food, The Giant Company, Hannaford and Stop & Shop.
Those services weren’t fully restored until Oct. 20, after more than a week of disruptions.
There’s no established connection between that incident and the European refrigeration attacks. Together, however, they illustrate how many different parts of a grocery operation now depend on connected technology.
A Warning for U.S. Grocers
American supermarkets shouldn’t assume this is strictly a European problem.
Connected refrigeration equipment, electronic shelf labels, building-management systems and other networked devices are becoming standard features of modern grocery stores. They deliver operating efficiencies, but every remotely accessible system requires appropriate safeguards.
Retailers should review remote-access permissions, equipment firmware, network segmentation and local override capabilities starting today. Procedures for detecting abnormal temperature changes are just as important, particularly when a technical malfunction could become a food-safety incident.
Most cybersecurity efforts revolve around keeping data safe; payroll, customer information, and the like. But the refrigeration attacks prove protecting connected equipment has to be a priority as well.
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