Cyber attack disrupts supermarket freezers in several European countries weeks after similar incident in France.

What it means

Refrigeration systems in supermarkets across Europe — Swedish chains ICA and Coop, Belgian stores, and 13 SuperValu outlets in Ireland — lost temperature control, with freezers reportedly warming to around 50°C and food worth millions of euros spoiled. Retailers and national cyber agencies are describing it as a deliberate intrusion into remotely managed cooling equipment rather than a data theft: attackers appear to have altered temperature setpoints on internet-connected controllers, turning the fridge fleet into the target itself. It is the second such wave in weeks, following an outbreak at French retailers, which points to a shared, internet-exposed base of refrigeration controllers (Danfoss equipment was named in the French round) rather than many separate hacks.

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