A suspected cyberattack hit supermarkets in at least nine European countries on Monday 2 November, causing refrigeration systems to fail and forcing some stores to throw away food. The affected countries are Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden. No one has claimed responsibility.
It follows a similar attack on French grocery stores on 12 October, when hundreds of outlets discarded spoiled stock. EU Agriculture and Food Commissioner Christophe Hansen called the incidents a deliberate attempt to disrupt the bloc’s food supply chain and undermine consumer confidence.
What happened by country
Belgium: One of the hardest hit, with dozens of stores across several chains affected, including Carrefour (about 15 of 700 stores), Delhaize, Colruyt, Intermarché and an Ikea outlet. Federal prosecutors have opened an investigation.
Italy: At least four Coop supermarkets in Sicily and one business in Tuscany were hit. The government planned a meeting with intelligence services on Tuesday.
Ireland: 13 Supervalu stores were affected.
Portugal: Seven Intermarché stores were hit, apparently through an external refrigeration service provider.
Sweden: Six Coop stores and a limited number of Ica stores had problems.
Finland and Estonia: Finnish Kesko stores saw irregular temperatures, while in Estonia hackers reportedly raised a supermarket’s freezer temperature to 50C.
Luxembourg and the Netherlands: Four Delhaize stores and a few corner shops respectively reported disruption.
The common thread
Ica said its affected stores all used an external refrigeration control system from Danish manufacturer Danfoss, the same supplier targeted in France. Older Danfoss units were also reportedly hit in Estonia. Danfoss had not yet responded to requests for comment.
Weak points appear to include outdated equipment. Coop Sweden said its affected stores used a 4G network rather than 5G, making them “more exposed”. A Belgian refrigeration firm said some of its systems had not yet been upgraded after the French attack.
Industry response
Finland’s cybersecurity centre said the spread beyond France had been expected, as vulnerabilities are being exploited faster. The European appliance association APPLiA called for common cybersecurity standards for connected products, under the EU’s Cyber Resilience Act.
At DMX Associates, we are monitoring developments in cybersecurity threats to critical infrastructure and food supply chains across Europe.
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