Freezer hacking hits supermarkets across several European countries

What happened

Supermarket chains in Sweden, Belgium and Luxembourg said refrigerator and freezer temperatures rose overnight in dozens of stores, prompting fears of a cyber-attack similar to earlier incidents ¹. Dozens of supermarkets in Belgium and Sweden were hit by a suspected cyber-attack affecting refrigerators and freezers ².

Ahold Delhaize said an IT incident hit fridges and freezers in dozens of its supermarkets in Belgium and Luxembourg ³. Around 40 Delhaize supermarkets and 15 Carrefour stores were affected in Belgium ⁴. In Sweden, an Ica Kvantum store said its fridges and freezers were hacked overnight and temperatures were raised to 50 degrees Celsius ⁵, and seven out of the 800 Coop stores were affected ⁶.

French police said in October that hackers seized control of cooling units at up to 700 supermarkets ⁷.

What is confirmed

The confirmed record establishes that European supermarkets were hit by freezer hacking ⁸, and that chains in three countries reported overnight temperature rises in dozens of stores ¹.

Company accounts put the affected estate at around 40 Delhaize and 15 Carrefour stores in Belgium ⁴, and seven of Coop's 800 Swedish stores ⁶. Ahold Delhaize described an IT incident affecting fridges and freezers in dozens of its supermarkets in Belgium and Luxembourg ³. Sweden's Coop chain said six of its stores were affected ⁹.

The confirmed material also places the episode in a sequence: French police said in October that hackers seized control of cooling units at up to 700 supermarkets ⁷.

Where the accounts differ

The store counts are not uniform across the record. Coop is reported as saying six of its stores were affected ⁹, while the confirmed figure elsewhere is seven out of 800 Coop stores ⁶.

The blocs tell the story from different vantage points. European outlets foreground the cross-border reach, naming Delhaize, Carrefour, Coop, ICA and SuperValu and stores in Ireland, and centre company statements and local reports, including a 'computer incident' at 40 Delhaize shops and refrigerators 'hacked overnight' with temperatures set to 50 degrees. US outlets foreground mechanics and suspected cause, centring security researchers and companies, and frame the episode as a 'second wave', citing Ahold Delhaize and Colruyt confirming the hacks and hackers who 'changed the settings to defrost'. Al Jazeera foregrounds temperature rises and official confirmation, citing Coop's statement to Aftonbladet and Sweden's cybersecurity centre. Asian outlets foreground scale and the voices of store managers, with the South China Morning Post noting that 'Moscow has repeatedly denied involvement'.

What is not known yet

Several elements rest on single outlets. Carrefour says 15 of its 700 stores in Belgium were affected, reported only by South China Morning Post ¹⁰. Musgrave says a cyber incident affected refrigeration systems in 13 of its SuperValu stores in Ireland, reported only by South China Morning Post ¹¹. Colruyt Group says five of its Spar shops in Belgium had their fridge systems attacked, reported only by South China Morning Post ¹². That Moscow has repeatedly denied involvement in any sabotage or hybrid warfare operations is reported only by South China Morning Post ¹³.

Security researchers said internet-connected refrigerators made by Danish company Danfoss caused the hacks, reported only by TechCrunch ¹⁴. Claroty warned in August that the refrigerator units were at risk of remote hacks and outages, reported only by TechCrunch ¹⁵. Hackers changed Delhaize refrigerator settings to defrost, reported only by TechCrunch ¹⁶. A second wave of cyberattacks is suspected to have hit supermarket refrigerators across Europe, reported only by TechCrunch ¹⁷.

Some Belgian refrigeration units were reportedly set as high as 70 degrees Celsius, causing an estimated €100,000 of food loss at one Delhaize branch, reported only by The Times of India ¹⁸. The full scale of the incident has not been confirmed, reported only by The Verge ¹⁹. The ledger leaves open who was responsible, how many stores were affected in total, and whether the incidents in different countries are linked.

Why it matters

The confirmed record shows disruption reaching at least three countries and multiple chains in a single overnight window ¹³⁴. This suggests the target was not one retailer's estate but shared or similar refrigeration arrangements across borders.

If the single-source accounts of the suspected cause hold ¹⁴¹⁵, the exposure would sit in internet-connected cooling equipment rather than in store-level systems alone. Analysis: the confirmed French case, with cooling units at up to 700 supermarkets seized ⁷, indicates the tactic has been used at scale before, which makes the current episode a test of whether retailers and suppliers have changed their defences.