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EuropeDevelopingDay 1

European supermarket freezer cyber-attacks

Supermarkets in Sweden, Belgium and Luxembourg are hit by freezer hacking, with temperatures raised overnight in dozens of stores, including about 40 Delhaize and 15 Carrefour stores in Belgium and.

Updated 14:22 UTC, 2 November 2026 · 9 reports from 9 outlets · 9 confirmed · 36 one-source

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What changed

Last 48 hours, newest first (times UTC)

  1. Where it stands Supermarkets in Sweden, Belgium and Luxembourg are hit by freezer hacking, with temperatures raised overnight in dozens of stores, including about 40 Delhaize and 15 Carrefour stores in Belgium and. 24 min ago
58 earlier changes
  1. Ghost edit Al Jazeera edited "Supermarket fridges in Sweden, Ireland overheat amid suspected cyberattacks": Belgium and Luxembourg dropped from headline; Ireland added; Axfood Gothenburg hack, Kitman CEO Jann Mutso, Estonia added; Sabcobel CEO Stephan Moelans removed. 1 hr ago
  2. Where it stands Suspected cyber-attacks raised refrigerator and freezer temperatures overnight in dozens of supermarkets in Sweden, Belgium and Luxembourg, including about 40 Delhaize and 15 Carrefour stores in Belgium and seven of. 1 hr ago
  3. Where it stands European supermarkets were hit by freezer hacking, with temperatures rising overnight in dozens of stores in Sweden, Belgium and Luxembourg, including six Coop stores and dozens of Ahold Delhaize supermarkets. 1 hr ago
  4. Ghost edit BBC World News edited "Supermarket freezers in Belgium, Sweden and Luxembourg hit by suspected cyber-at": Luxembourg added to headline; Carrefour's 15 Belgian stores now "only affected"; Delhaize stores now Belgium and Luxembourg, not Carrefour; cyber agencies monitoring and €100,000 Hoeilaart loss 2 hrs ago
  5. Ghost edit The Guardian World edited "Supermarket freezers across Europe hit by second suspected cyber-attack": said" changed to "say" and "that hit French stores in October" changed to "of French stores"; October reference removed. 2 hrs ago
  6. Where it stands Freezer and refrigerator temperatures rose overnight in dozens of stores across Sweden, Belgium and Luxembourg, with six Coop stores in Sweden affected. 2 hrs ago
  7. Story opened Supermarket freezers in Belgium, Sweden and elsewhere in Europe have been hit by a second suspected cyber-attack. 3 hrs ago

Two sides

The two media blocs whose accounts of this story differ most, side by side.

Where they part European media foregrounds affected chains, countries and discarded food across borders, while US media centres the mechanics and suspected cause, citing Claroty's warning and Danfoss refrigerators lacking security updates.

European media

France 24Public broadcasterBBCPublic broadcasterThe GuardianNon-profitFinancial TimesPrivate

European media foregrounds the cross-border reach of the incident, naming affected chains and countries including Delhaize, Carrefour, Coop, ICA, SuperValu and stores in Ireland. It centres company statements and local reports, quoting a 'computer incident' at 40 Delhaize shops and refrigerators 'hacked overnight' with temperatures set to 50 degrees. Outlets also note 'thousands of euros worth of food' thrown away.

US media

TechCrunchPrivateThe VergePrivate

US media foregrounds the mechanics and suspected cause of the attacks, centring security researchers and companies: Claroty's August warning and internet-connected refrigerators 'made by Danish company Danfoss, which was no longer providing security updates.' TechCrunch and The Verge frame it as a 'fresh wave' and 'second wave,' citing Ahold Delhaize and Colruyt confirming the hacks and hackers who 'changed the settings to defrost.'

How it’s being told

One card per media bloc. Each summary is written only from that bloc’s own headlines and quotes.

European media

France 24Public broadcasterBBCPublic broadcasterThe GuardianNon-profitFinancial TimesPrivate

European media foregrounds the cross-border reach of the incident, naming affected chains and countries including Delhaize, Carrefour, Coop, ICA, SuperValu and stores in Ireland. It centres company statements and local reports, quoting a 'computer incident' at 40 Delhaize shops and refrigerators 'hacked overnight' with temperatures set to 50 degrees. Outlets also note 'thousands of euros worth of food' thrown away.

US media

TechCrunchPrivateThe VergePrivate

US media foregrounds the mechanics and suspected cause of the attacks, centring security researchers and companies: Claroty's August warning and internet-connected refrigerators 'made by Danish company Danfoss, which was no longer providing security updates.' TechCrunch and The Verge frame it as a 'fresh wave' and 'second wave,' citing Ahold Delhaize and Colruyt confirming the hacks and hackers who 'changed the settings to defrost.'

Middle East state media

Al JazeeraState media

Al Jazeera foregrounds the temperature rises and the cyberattack framing, centring retailer statements and official confirmation: Coop told Aftonbladet that six stores were affected, and Sweden's cybersecurity centre head John Billow 'confirmed' the centre is responding to multiple incidents affecting store cooling systems. It cites the earlier French case where fridges and freezers reached 'as high as 50 degrees Celsius (122F)', and attributes Belgian and Luxembourg reports to Belga and Sabcobel's chief executive Stephan Moelans.

Asian media

South China Morning PostPrivateThe Times of IndiaPrivate

Asian media foregrounds the scale of the disruption and the voices of affected store managers and chains, centring a Swedish sales manager who says 'all our freezers reached 50 degrees Celsius' and quotes the headline phrase 'everything is destroyed'. The Times of India frames it as 'Fridges hacked, food spoiled', while the South China Morning Post notes that 'Moscow has repeatedly denied involvement' and details affected store counts at Carrefour, Colruyt and Musgrave.

In their words

What the people at the centre of this story said, word for word, with the article each quote appeared in.

There has been a cyberattack and all our freezers reached 50 degrees Celsius [122 degrees Fahrenheit]

Engla Ingwallsales manager at an ICA franchise store in StockholmSouth China Morning PostReceipt

Receipts

Every claim with the verbatim sentence it came from. Tap a claim to see its sources.

Confirmed 9

Reported by at least two independent outlets, or by the actor itself.

An Ica Kvantum store in Sweden said its fridges and freezers were hacked overnight and temperatures were raised to 50 degrees Celsius. Confirmed by 2The Verge, The Times of India · #
Seven out of the 800 Coop stores in Sweden are affected. Confirmed by 2BBC, The Times of India · #
Around 40 Delhaize supermarkets and 15 Carrefour stores are affected in Belgium. Confirmed by 2BBC, The Times of India · #
Dozens of supermarkets in Belgium and Sweden are hit by a suspected cyber-attack affecting refrigerators and freezers. Confirmed by 3BBC, The Times of India, South China Morning Post · #
French police said in October that hackers seized control of cooling units at up to 700 supermarkets. Confirmed by 2The Guardian, South China Morning Post · #
Ahold Delhaize said an IT incident hit fridges and freezers in dozens of its supermarkets in Belgium and Luxembourg. Confirmed by 3The Guardian, The Verge, South China Morning Post · #
Sweden's Coop chain said six of its stores were affected. Confirmed by 2The Guardian, Al Jazeera · #
Supermarket chains in Sweden, Belgium and Luxembourg said refrigerator and freezer temperatures rose overnight in dozens of stores. Confirmed by 2The Guardian, Al Jazeera · #
European supermarkets were hit by freezer hacking. Confirmed by 3Financial Times, The Verge, France 24 · #

One source 36

Only one outlet so far. Shown, never hidden — treat with care.

Carrefour says 15 of its 700 stores in Belgium were affected. One source: South China Morning PostSouth China Morning Post · #
Musgrave says a cyber incident affected refrigeration systems in 13 of its SuperValu stores in Ireland. One source: South China Morning PostSouth China Morning Post · #
Colruyt Group says five of its Spar shops in Belgium had their fridge systems attacked. One source: South China Morning PostSouth China Morning Post · #
Moscow has repeatedly denied involvement in any sabotage or hybrid warfare operations. One source: South China Morning PostSouth China Morning Post · #
All freezers at an ICA franchise store in Stockholm reached 50 degrees Celsius in the cyberattack. One source: South China Morning PostSouth China Morning Post · #
A 2025 cyberattack on food distributor UNFI caused food shortages and empty shelves at US grocery stores. One source: TechCrunchTechCrunch · #
Claroty warned in August that the refrigerator units were at risk of remote hacks and outages. One source: TechCrunchTechCrunch · #
Security researchers said internet-connected refrigerators made by Danish company Danfoss caused the hacks. One source: TechCrunchTechCrunch · #
Earlier refrigerator hacks in France last month caused food spoilage at hundreds of supermarkets. One source: TechCrunchTechCrunch · #
Hackers changed Delhaize refrigerator settings to defrost. One source: TechCrunchTechCrunch · #
Ahold Delhaize and Colruyt confirmed the refrigerator hacks overnight. One source: TechCrunchTechCrunch · #
The refrigerator attacks spoiled food at dozens of stores in Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg and Sweden. One source: TechCrunchTechCrunch · #
A second wave of cyberattacks is suspected to have hit supermarket refrigerators across Europe. One source: TechCrunchTechCrunch · #
A hacker accessed a computer controlling refrigeration at one Selver supermarket in Estonia and set a freezer to 50 degrees Celsius above zero. One source: The Times of IndiaThe Times of India · #
Carrefour Belgium spokesman Mich Vergauwen described the incident as a cyberattack with no other explanation. One source: The Times of IndiaThe Times of India · #
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. One source: The Times of IndiaThe Times of India · #
Thirteen SuperValu stores in Ireland were affected by the suspected cyberattack. One source: The Times of IndiaThe Times of India · #
A suspected cyberattack targeted hundreds of French supermarket refrigerators last month, with food spoilage estimated at millions of Euros. One source: The VergeThe Verge · #
  • “This latest incident follows an apparent cyberattack that targeted hundreds of French supermarket refrigerators last month, with the resulting food spoilage estimated to be worth millions of Euros, along with a string of US military base freezer malfunctions also suspected to be the result of a cyberattack.”

    The VergePrivateReportsMore European supermarkets are getting their freezers hacked

The full scale of the incident has not been confirmed. One source: The VergeThe Verge · #
Coop says unauthorized actors accessed and tampered with cooling systems at a small fraction of its stores. One source: The VergeThe Verge · #
  • “In a statement to Business Insider, a spokesperson at Swedish supermarket chain Coop also confirmed that “unauthorized actors were able to access and tamper with the cooling systems at a small fraction of our stores.””

    The VergePrivateAttributesMore European supermarkets are getting their freezers hacked

Supermarket chains in Belgium, Sweden, Luxembourg and Estonia were affected. One source: The VergeThe Verge · #
The cyberattack on refrigeration systems at hundreds of French supermarkets raised fridge and freezer temperatures to as high as 50 degrees Celsius. One source: Al JazeeraAl Jazeera · #
Ahold Delhaize reported a cybersecurity incident to Dutch police last month. One source: Al JazeeraAl Jazeera · #
Temperatures rose overnight at dozens of Ahold Delhaize stores in Belgium and Luxembourg. One source: Al JazeeraAl Jazeera · #
  • “Meanwhile, the Belga news agency reported overnight temperature increases at dozens of ⁠⁠Ahold Delhaize stores in Belgium and Luxembourg, which were blamed on a cyberattack, quoting refrigeration company ⁠⁠Sabcobel’s chief ⁠⁠executive ⁠⁠Stephan Moelans.”

    Al JazeeraState mediaAttributesFreezers in Sweden, Belgium overheat following possible cyberattacks

Freezer temperatures at several Swedish stores rose suddenly overnight, according to ICA and Coop. One source: Al JazeeraAl Jazeera · #
Sweden's national cybersecurity centre is responding to multiple incidents affecting store cooling systems. One source: Al JazeeraAl Jazeera · #
John Billow heads Sweden's national cybersecurity centre. One source: Al JazeeraAl Jazeera · #
An IVA branch in Sjöbo, southern Sweden, says its refrigerators and freezers were hacked overnight and the temperature set to 50 degrees. One source: BBCBBC · #
Carrefour says it is "currently analysing" the incident at 15 of its Belgian stores. One source: BBCBBC · #
Delhaize says a "computer incident" occurred overnight at 40 shops. One source: BBCBBC · #
One ICA store in Sweden says its freezer temperatures were set to 50 C (122F). One source: BBCBBC · #
Thirteen SuperValu shops in Ireland are impacted by the incident. One source: BBCBBC · #
The Paris prosecutor's office opened a formal probe into the French attack, citing damage including food losses and fires. One source: The GuardianThe Guardian · #
  • “The Paris prosecutor’s office has opened a formal probe into the French attack, saying damage included “food losses and fires”, and the prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, instructed France’s national cybersecurity agency ANSSI to investigate.”

    The GuardianNon-profitAttributesSupermarket freezers across Europe hit by second suspected cyber-attack

Hackers remotely overrode freezer settings, pushing temperatures from as low as -27C to well over 50C. One source: The GuardianThe Guardian · #
Stephan Moelans said Sabcobel began mobilising technicians at 1am and spent all night and morning disconnecting affected installations from the grid. One source: The GuardianThe Guardian · #
Ahold Delhaize spokesperson Sarah De Meester said temperatures in the cooling systems had increased and the incident was being investigated. One source: The GuardianThe Guardian · #

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Fridges stand empty in Belgian supermarkets after cyberattack

Euronews ·

Ghost edits

Changes outlets made to their articles after publishing, caught by re-reading them.

  • Al JazeeraSubstantive edit

    BeforeFreezers in Sweden, Belgium overheat following possible cyberattacks

    AfterSupermarket fridges in Sweden, Ireland overheat amid suspected cyberattacks

    Belgium and Luxembourg dropped from headline; Ireland added; Axfood Gothenburg hack, Kitman CEO Jann Mutso, Estonia added; Sabcobel CEO Stephan Moelans removed.

    RemovedPossible cyberattacks have triggered rising temperatures in grocery store refrigeration systems across Sweden, Belgium and Luxembourg.

    AddedSuspected cyberattacks have triggered temperatures to rise in grocery store refrigeration systems in a growing number of countries across Europe.

    Read the article as it stands now

  • BBCSubstantive edit

    BeforeSupermarket freezers in Belgium and Sweden hit by suspected cyber-attack

    AfterSupermarket freezers in Belgium, Sweden and Luxembourg hit by suspected cyber-attack

    Luxembourg added to headline; Carrefour's 15 Belgian stores now "only affected"; Delhaize stores now Belgium and Luxembourg, not Carrefour; cyber agencies monitoring and €100,000 Hoeilaart loss added.

    RemovedAround 40 Delhaize supermarkets and 15 Carrefour stores were affected in Belgium, while several ICA and Coop shops in Sweden were hit.

    AddedAround 40 Delhaize supermarkets in Belgium and Luxembourg were affected, while several ICA and Coop shops in Sweden were hit.

    Read the article as it stands now

  • The GuardianSubstantive edit

    HeadlineSupermarket freezers across Europe hit by second suspected cyber-attack

    said" changed to "say" and "that hit French stores in October" changed to "of French stores"; October reference removed.

    RemovedChains in Sweden, Belgium and Luxembourg said fridge temperatures rose overnight, similar to hack that hit French stores in October Supermarket chains in Sweden , Belgium and Luxembourg have said the temperatures of their refrigerators…

    AddedChains in Sweden, Belgium and Luxembourg say fridge temperatures rose overnight, similar to hack of French stores Supermarket chains in Sweden, Belgium and Luxembourg have said the temperatures of their refrigerators and freezers in…

    Read the article as it stands now

All sources

9 reports from 9 outlets — with who owns each outlet and who pays for it.

Al Jazeera State media

QatarOwner: Al Jazeera Media NetworkPaid by: funded by the State of Qatar

BBC Public broadcaster

United KingdomOwner: BBC — public corporation under Royal CharterPaid by: TV licence fee

Financial Times Private

United KingdomOwner: Nikkei Inc.Paid by: subscriptions + advertising

France 24 Public broadcaster

FranceOwner: France Médias Monde (wholly owned by the French state)Paid by: French public funds (state allocation for public broadcasting)

South China Morning Post Private

Hong KongOwner: Alibaba Group (since 2016)Paid by: advertising + subscriptions

TechCrunch Private

United StatesOwner: Regent, L.P. (acquired from Yahoo in 2025)Paid by: advertising + events

The Guardian Non-profit

United KingdomOwner: Guardian Media Group, owned by the Scott Trust LimitedPaid by: reader contributions + subscriptions + advertising; Scott Trust endowment

The Times of India Private

IndiaOwner: Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd (The Times Group)Paid by: advertising + circulation

The Verge Private

United StatesOwner: Vox MediaPaid by: advertising + subscriptions

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Ars TechnicaAssociated PressCGTNCNADWESPNEuronewsForeign PolicyFox NewsNPRRTReutersSky NewsSky SportsSputnikTASSTRT WorldThe New York TimesWION

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Our analysis pieces on this story.

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9 confirmed · 36 one-source9 outletsUpdated