Hackers attacked refrigerators in European stores. Freezer temperatures reached +55°C
Supermarkets in Sweden, Belgium, Estonia, and Luxembourg experienced failures in their refrigeration systems after cyberattacks. Some products spoiled and had to be discarded.
In Sweden, stores of the ICA and Coop chains were affected, reports TV channel SVT.
The owner of an ICA store on Öland island said that in the morning he saw a puddle of water on the floor. The temperature in the freezer reached +55°C. According to him, all refrigerators and freezers broke down, and the products were spoiled.
The ICA store in Sjöbo had to be temporarily closed. Its manager, Rikard Nilsson, estimated the value of goods that might have to be discarded at up to one million Swedish kronor.
"We are currently emptying the freezers, there's not much else to do. They are starting to cool down again, but everything is spoiled," the store manager in St. Olof told SVT.
ICA representative Gustav Nilsson reported that the chain is investigating the incident and assisting affected stores.
Sweden's National Cybersecurity Centre has joined the effort. They reported that they are in contact with those affected and are clarifying the circumstances of the attack.
In Belgium, the problems affected dozens of Delhaize stores. According to the Belga agency, on Monday night, the refrigeration equipment was switched to defrost mode.
Estonian public broadcaster ERR also reported an attack on a major retail chain. According to them, attackers gained remote access to the computer controlling the store's refrigeration system and set the temperature to +50°C.
Reuters reported on affected stores in Luxembourg.
Similar attack already occurred in France
On October 12, hundreds of French stores faced a similar incident: after a cyberattack, temperatures in refrigerators and freezers rose.
Cybersecurity researcher Fredrik Blixt from Stockholm University believes that suppliers of refrigeration equipment should have learned lessons from that incident.
"This is to some extent a failure on the part of refrigeration equipment suppliers. This should have been taken more seriously," he said.
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