Science & Tech · Cybersecurity · 26 mins ago
Apparent cyberattacks disrupt supermarket freezers in Europe
Supermarket refrigeration systems in several European countries were disrupted overnight on Monday, November 2.
Stores in Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden and Estonia reported problems, and some said freezers had been remotely set to 50°C.
The disruption spoiled food that stores had to throw away, though some chains reported limited effects and normal deliveries.
The incidents follow a similar attack on hundreds of French supermarkets and independent stores last month.
Older refrigeration controls exposed to the internet may have enabled the attacks, and some systems may no longer have software updates available.
Who is behind the attacks remains unknown, and not every store’s reported technical problem has been confirmed as a cyberattack.
Companies are responding to the incidents, but a complete fix may require both software updates and physical changes to some equipment.
Hackers apparently disrupted refrigeration systems at more than 115 stores in several European countries, spoiling food and forcing some shops to discard stock.
The reported affected countries include Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Luxembourg, Ireland and Estonia.
Reports say attackers remotely changed freezer settings, switched units to defrost mode or raised temperatures as high as 50°C.
The cause and scale of the incident remain unclear, and the sources do not identify who was behind the attacks.
The incidents follow a similar attack on French supermarkets in October.
- Who
- Supermarket chains and shops across Europe were affected, including Delhaize, Carrefour, Coop and ICA.
- What
- Apparent cyberattacks disrupted refrigeration and freezer systems, leading to spoiled food and operational problems.
- When
- The latest incidents began overnight from Sunday into Monday, 2 November 2026.
- Where
- Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Luxembourg, Ireland and Estonia were reported as affected.
- Why
- The attackers’ identity and motive are not stated. Reports point to internet-exposed refrigeration systems, including systems with unpatched vulnerabilities.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
A similar overnight attack affected hundreds of French supermarkets, according to the articles.
Sabcobel CEO Stephan Moelans said the latest attack started.
Refrigeration failures were reported at supermarkets and shops in several European countries.
Ahold Delhaize reportedly warned managers by SMS about refrigeration problems.
- Reported affected stores
- More than 115
- Countries named by BleepingComputer
- Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Luxembourg, Ireland and Estonia
- Carrefour stores affected in Belgium
- 15 of 700
- Coop stores affected in Sweden
- 7 of more than 800
- Temperature reported at some freezers
- 50°C (122°F)
- SuperValu stores affected in Ireland
- 13
29 sources
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What people are saying
all night and morning to disconnect the affected units from the network
I’ve confirmed with folks the impacted freezers in the countries impacted today are all [management] interface facing internet, same issue and vuln as last time.
The incident impacted the stores’ refrigeration and freezer systems. ICA is currently supporting the affected stores in managing the situation.
We immediately took the necessary measures to keep our stores operational and ensure that our customers can continue to do their shopping as usual.
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Supermarket freezers in Belgium and Sweden hit by cyber-attack
🔴 ÚLTIMA HORA | Un ciberataque causa pérdidas millonarias en decenas de supermercados en Bélgica y Suecia al disparar la temperatura de los refrigeradores https://t.co/uZYSE3fDoP