In brief
Cybersecurity experts report that refrigeration systems at supermarkets in the United Kingdom, Sweden, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France have been disrupted by a coordinated cyber incident. The attacks affected major chains such as SuperValu, Axfood, ICA, Coop, Delhaize, and Colruyt, prompting precautionary removal of perishable goods. Authorities remain uncertain whether the incidents are linked or the identity of responsible hackers.
A cyber attack at the end of last week disabled refrigeration systems in 13 SuperValu stores in the Republic of Ireland, prompting the Irish chain to remove all chilled and frozen products from its shelves. The incident, which occurred on Monday, was described by the Musgrave Group – SuperValu’s parent company – as being limited to a single model of refrigeration equipment. The company said the affected stores could not guarantee the safety of perishable goods and decided to clear those items from sale to prevent spoilage or health risks.
During the same week, a wave of similar disruptions hit supermarkets across Europe. In Sweden, grocery retailer Axfood announced that a distribution centre that supplies home deliveries had its freezer systems hacked overnight. Axfood's own monitoring systems detected irregularities and forced a shutdown of the temperature control system to avoid a surge in food temperatures.
Our monitoring systems alerted us to the issue and we took immediate action.
A Musgrave spokesperson told Xinhua the company was working with both equipment suppliers and cybersecurity specialists to investigate the incident and restore normal operations.
Sweden’s ICA chain confirmed outages at a limited number of stores, while the coop supermarket operator Coop reported six of its outlets lost refrigeration capability. One ICA store in particular noted that its refrigeration and freezer temperatures had been set to a dangerous 50 °C after a suspected cyber attack, a figure that would melt most perishable groceries.
In Belgium and Luxembourg, the French‑origin Dutch‑owned Ahold Delhaize chain disclosed that dozens of its Delhaize stores had been affected by an IT incident that compromised refrigeration units. Belgian retailer Colruyt Group also reported that five Spar stores experienced similar attacks, forcing the removal of frozen and chilled food items to preserve food safety and quality.
The current wave of disruptions follows a major cyberattack that hit the French food retail sector in October, when hackers gained control of refrigeration systems at hundreds of supermarkets across the country. The French police later blamed the attackers for causing temperatures to climb dramatically, resulting in substantial food losses and, in some cases, sparking small fires inside smouldering freezers.
Although law enforcement and cybersecurity groups are investigating each incident in parallel, no single agency has confirmed that the attacks across the continent are part of a unified campaign. Authorities have not yet established whether a common hacker group or motive links the incidents in Ireland, Sweden, Belgium, Luxembourg, or France.
As supermarkets across several European nations clear frozen and chilled food stocks for safety, the cascade of refrigeration failures has spotlighted the fragility of food‑retail cyber infrastructures. Retailers say that they are reevaluating their monitoring systems and collaborating with equipment vendors and cyber‑security specialists to prevent future breaches. The events have also prompted conversation among policymakers in the European Union about strengthening security protocols for critical retail infrastructure.
While the causes of the latest incidents remain uncertain, and the exact identity of the perpetrators is still unknown, the incident has left retailers grappling with the twin challenges of food loss and supply chain disruption. Questions persist over whether the attacks were connected, what new vulnerabilities were exploited, and who is ultimately responsible for the malfunctioning refrigeration systems that cut across multiple countries and chains.
