Suspected Cyberattacks Hit Supermarket Freezers Across Europe: More Than 115 Stores Affected, Some Freezer Temperatures Raised Above 50 Degrees Celsius
BRUSSELS, November 2 — Refrigeration systems at supermarkets in several European countries were hit by suspected cyberattacks overnight into Monday, November 2, after hackers remotely raised the temperatures of freezers and cold rooms, forcing stores to discard large quantities of food. According to cybersecurity outlet BleepingComputer, more than 115 stores in Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Luxembourg, Ireland and Estonia have been affected; it is unclear whether the incidents were a coordinated attack or targeted individually, and no group has publicly claimed responsibility.
Store counts by chain are still being compiled: about 40 Delhaize stores in Belgium and Luxembourg, 15 Carrefour stores in Belgium (out of its 700 outlets), about 15 Intermarché stores in Belgium, about 5 Spar stores in Belgium, 13 SuperValu stores in Ireland, 7 Coop stores in Sweden, at least 4 ICA stores in Sweden, and at least 17 businesses in the Netherlands, mostly butcher shops and small neighborhood stores, also reported attacked cooling systems. An ICA store in Sjöbo, Sweden, wrote on its Facebook page that its fridges and freezers "have been hacked during the night and they have set the temperature to 50C." The Times reported temperatures as high as 55 degrees Celsius in some units; reported peak temperatures differ slightly, and this draft does not treat a single peak figure as settled. In some cases refrigerators were shut down entirely or defrosting systems were activated, causing temperatures to rise and forcing store managers to intervene early in the morning; Carrefour Belgium said all of its shops remained open, with only a few refrigeration units affected, mainly freezers.
The incidents are seen as a continuation of an attack about three weeks earlier in France, when refrigeration systems at up to 700 supermarkets were taken over and food had to be thrown away. The head of Belgian refrigeration company Sabcobel said the attackers used the same method as in France, switching evaporators into defrost mode so the units warmed up; a spokesperson for Danish refrigeration systems maker Danfoss said the incidents across Europe involved its products, as was the case in France in October. The UK National Cyber Security Centre said it had warned British retailers to update the software on fridge temperature controllers "with urgency." The European Union said on Monday that it was taking the cyberattacks "very seriously."
(Source: BleepingComputer)
Source: BleepingComputer
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 超市冷柜通道（资料图）。 A supermarket freezer aisle (file photo). CC BY 2.0，图片来源：Wikimedia Commons。 CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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