Supermarkets across at least five European countries reported disruptions to refrigeration systems on Monday, November 2, following suspected cyberattacks that caused refrigerator and freezer settings to rise to unusually high temperatures. Retailers in Sweden, Belgium, Luxembourg, Estonia and Ireland reported incidents affecting their cooling equipment, forcing several stores to remove refrigerated products from sale and discard potentially spoiled food. Some systems were reportedly configured to temperatures as high as 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit), raising concerns about the security of internet-connected refrigeration infrastructure.

In Sweden, supermarket chains ICA and Coop reported disruptions at multiple locations after refrigeration equipment malfunctioned overnight. An ICA store in Sjöbo said its refrigeration systems had been compromised and their temperatures set to 50 degrees Celsius, while other affected stores reported significant food losses. Coop confirmed problems at several locations, and Sweden’s National Cybersecurity Centre began examining multiple incidents involving grocery refrigeration systems. Authorities have not publicly identified the individuals or groups responsible.

Similar incidents were reported across Belgium and Luxembourg, where supermarket operator Ahold Delhaize confirmed an IT incident affecting refrigeration equipment at several dozen stores. Belgian refrigeration company Sabcobel’s chief executive told local media that attackers had remotely activated defrost functions, interfering with normal cooling operations. Carrefour Belgium separately confirmed a cyberattack affecting refrigeration installations at 15 stores, while Colruyt Group reported incidents involving five Spar locations. Although some affected supermarkets temporarily limited fresh and frozen products, retailers said their wider distribution operations continued.

In Ireland, supermarket operator Musgrave confirmed that a cyber incident affected refrigeration equipment at 13 SuperValu locations, prompting the precautionary removal of chilled and frozen products. The company said the disruption involved a specific model of refrigeration equipment and that its monitoring systems detected the problem, allowing staff to respond. In Estonia, supermarket chain Selver confirmed an incident at one location after attackers reportedly accessed a refrigeration control computer and changed its temperature setting to 50 degrees Celsius. Equipment supplier Kitman Coldtech said the Estonian incident was contained within minutes, preventing significant damage.

The disruptions follow a major cyberattack against French supermarkets in October, when attackers remotely manipulated refrigeration systems at hundreds of stores, resulting in substantial food losses and reports of equipment-related fires. Investigators identified vulnerabilities involving remotely accessible refrigeration controllers, highlighting the exposure of older systems connected to the internet. Although the latest incidents share operational similarities with the earlier attacks, authorities have not established whether they were coordinated or carried out by the same perpetrators.

Investigations remain ongoing across the affected countries, with cybersecurity specialists examining how the refrigeration systems were accessed and manipulated. The incidents have renewed scrutiny of operational technology used to manage essential commercial infrastructure, particularly equipment that relies on remote network connectivity. No group has publicly claimed responsibility, and the full extent of the disruptions, financial losses and any connections between individual incidents remain unconfirmed.