Supermarkets Across Europe Are Losing Millions as Suspected Cyberattack Spoils Frozen Food Again

Supermarkets across Europe are throwing away food after fridges saw their temperature rise overnight, renewing fears of a widespread cyberattack.

Chains in Sweden, Belgium and Luxembourg claimed that several stores experienced such incidents. They include Coop and ICA in Sweden, and Spar and Shop & Go in Belgium.

"There has been a cyberattack and all our freezers reached 50 degrees (Celsius)," said Engla Ingwall, Sales manager at an ICA franchise in Stockholm when speaking to Reuters.

The attacks come just a month after French supermarkets also experienced soaring temperatures in their freezers.

Hundreds of French supermarkets were targeted in a cyberattack that caused freezers to overheat and raised the temperatures on refrigeration units.

Some stores saw their fridges heat up to 122 degrees overnight.

"I strongly condemn the cyberattack targeting food products," European Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Christophe Hansen wrote at the time on X. "Food security requires more attention at all levels. Because the weaponization of food has become a reality."

U.S. officials have now reached out to their French counterparts as part of their investigation.

New Food Magazine reported that digital tools allow can allow for improved safety, noting that the internet allows for real-time monitoring along the supply chain.

"One case study of a collaboration between Walmart and IBM Food Trust shows how blockchain reduced the time required to trace the origin of contaminated lettuce from seven days to just 2.2 seconds," the report stated.

However, New Food noted that such technological advancements must be accompanied by enhanced safety features.

"Unlike a mechanical failure, a cyber attack may be silent and difficult to detect, making it potentially more dangerous. Food safety modernization must therefore go hand-in-hand with robust cybersecurity," it stated.

The U.S. also saw a similar situation in August at a military base, with officials believing that mysterious freezer malfunctions resulted from malicious activity.

In late August, six on-base commissaries experienced problems with their freezers. In one case, the unit did not simply start working; rather, temperatures were raised overnight.

Fort Huachuca, Arizona, described what happened in a social media post on Facebook.

"It appears the outage has effected more than frozen food. Produce and additional reach-in coolers are also offline as well. Commissary employees are still pulling products from shelves. Please pay close attention to all signage," the post stated.

The post further stated that "ALL freezers went into defrost mode – ALL frozen food has spoiled. At this time, there are NO frozen food items for sale until further notice. We will continue to provide updates as available."