Cyber-attack sends shop freezer temperatures soaring in seven European countries, forcing supermarkets to dump food

Freezers in shops across seven European countries were hit by a cyber-attack, with temperatures in several stores reportedly rising as high as 50C¹. Dozens of supermarkets dumped huge quantities of food after their refrigerators and freezers were targeted².

The suspected attacks sent refrigerator and freezer temperatures soaring at dozens of European supermarkets overnight, spoiling food and threatening costly losses³. Grocery chains Ahold Delhaize and Colruyt reported incidents affecting stores in Belgium and Luxembourg³.

The episode was described as a fresh suspected cyber-attack on shop fridges and freezers across Europe⁴. “All this food is now useless,” was how one account of the aftermath summed up the piles of rubbish left behind².

Why it matters to investors

The attack shows hackers turning everyday, internet-connected equipment into physical hazards, spoiling food and causing costly damage³. For retailers, the immediate result is spoiled stock and piles of discarded food^2,3.

The disruption also reaches beyond the shop floor. Concern has been raised that such attacks disrupt the food supply chain and undermine consumers’ confidence in it, and there has been disruption to deliveries⁴.

The risk is not confined to Europe. US supermarkets use similar technology³. The Pentagon is already investigating suspected cyberattacks involving refrigeration systems at six military commissaries³.

The attack also landed on a day crowded with other cyber incidents. Energy sites were hit as Russia and Ukraine suffered cyberattacks, alongside reports of the suspected attack on supermarket freezers in Europe⁵. The same day brought news that Binance saw $3.6 billion in withdrawals after the largest-ever crypto hack⁵.

What to watch

The first marker is whether more chains report incidents beyond the Ahold Delhaize and Colruyt stores in Belgium and Luxembourg³, across the seven countries already affected^1,2.

A second is the scale of the losses. Supermarkets have already dumped huge quantities of food², and the attacks have been described as threatening costly losses³.

A third is the US exposure. The Pentagon’s investigation at six military commissaries³ and the use of similar technology in US supermarkets³ put the question of whether the attacks spread across the Atlantic on the table³.