BRUSSELS, EUROPE — November 2, 2026. A new wave of cyberattacks has disrupted refrigeration and freezer systems at supermarkets and food businesses across Europe, allowing unauthorized users to remotely manipulate temperature controls and potentially destroy large quantities of food. Retailers in Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden, Ireland, the Netherlands and Estonia reported incidents on Monday, while Finland also reported suspicious temperature irregularities that remain under investigation. Several affected businesses were forced to remove refrigerated and frozen products from sale.
MAJOR SUPERMARKET CHAINS REPORT REFRIGERATION DISRUPTIONS
Among the affected companies, Ahold Delhaize reported temperature increases in several dozen stores across Belgium and Luxembourg, describing the situation as an IT incident. Colruyt Group confirmed that refrigeration systems at five Belgian Spar franchise locations were attacked. Carrefour reported disruptions at 15 of its 700 Belgian stores, while IKEA confirmed that one location in Mons was affected. Delhaize also reported four affected stores in Luxembourg. In several cases, retailers removed vulnerable products while technicians worked to restore normal cooling operations.
SWEDEN AND IRELAND REPORT SPOILED FOOD AND FREEZER FAILURES
Swedish supermarket chains ICA and Coop also experienced refrigeration problems. One ICA store in Sjöbo reported that hackers had changed its freezer settings to 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit), forcing employees to discard affected products. Coop confirmed problems at six stores, according to the Associated Press, while Reuters reported seven affected locations. In Ireland, Musgrave Group confirmed that 13 SuperValu stores experienced refrigeration disruptions. The company said affected chilled and frozen products were removed as a precaution and that the incident had been resolved by Monday afternoon, with restocking underway.
NETHERLANDS AND ESTONIA ALSO REPORT ATTACKS
Danish refrigeration supplier Danfoss confirmed that at least 17 Dutch businesses experienced unauthorized changes to their refrigeration settings. Most were butcher shops and smaller neighborhood grocery stores rather than major supermarket chains. In Estonia, refrigeration technology provider Kitman Coldtech reported that attackers accessed a computer controlling a client’s cooling equipment and raised its temperature to 50 degrees Celsius. The affected outlet was identified as a Selver supermarket, and the intrusion was reportedly stopped within minutes without significant damage. Finland also detected irregular temperatures at several smaller Kesko grocery stores, although authorities had not established whether those problems resulted from cyber interference.
REMOTE REFRIGERATION CONTROLS EXPOSE SECURITY VULNERABILITIES
The incidents demonstrate how equipment traditionally considered mechanical can become a target when connected to remote management networks. Refrigeration controllers allow technicians to monitor temperatures, adjust cooling cycles and perform maintenance without physically visiting a store. However, Danfoss said some affected Dutch systems were operating outside secure networks and still using default passwords. The supplier had previously advised customers to disconnect vulnerable equipment from the public internet and reconnect only through protected networks. Some affected equipment also relied on older technology that no longer receives software or security updates.
A SIMILAR ATTACK PREVIOUSLY HIT HUNDREDS OF FRENCH STORES
The latest incidents follow a major cyberattack in France on October 11–12, when hackers remotely manipulated refrigeration systems at hundreds of supermarkets and independent food retailers. Investigators reported that attackers activated defrost functions and extended cooling-system cycles, allowing temperatures in some storage areas to rise to approximately 50 degrees Celsius or higher. The disruption caused substantial food losses and, in some locations, fires. Ahold Delhaize also experienced a separate cybersecurity incident in the Netherlands last month, but investigators have not established a connection between that event and the current refrigeration attacks.
INVESTIGATORS HAVE NOT IDENTIFIED THOSE RESPONSIBLE
No hacking group has claimed responsibility for the latest incidents, and authorities have not established whether the attacks across Europe are connected to the earlier French operation. Belgium’s Centre for Cybersecurity warned that remotely managed infrastructure remains vulnerable to unauthorized access. European Commission Agriculture Commissioner Christophe Hansen also expressed concern that repeated attacks could undermine food distribution networks and consumer confidence. For now, retailers are working to secure affected equipment, assess food losses and restore normal operations while cybersecurity specialists examine how the intrusions occurred.
