Refrigerators and freezers in supermarkets across multiple European nations were silently hijacked overnight, with one Swedish store reporting its temperatures had been forced up to a scorching 50 degrees Celsius. According to BBC News, the suspected cyber-attack has left millions of euros worth of food spoiled and discarded across Belgium, Sweden, Luxembourg, and Ireland.

BBC News reported that around 40 Delhaize supermarkets in Belgium and Luxembourg were affected, alongside several ICA and Coop shops in Sweden, and thirteen SuperValu shops in Ireland. Local media reports cited by the BBC noted that millions of euros worth of food had to be thrown away.

Specific local impacts varied by branch. A Delhaize branch in Hoeilaart, Belgium, told Het Laatste Nieuws (as reported by the BBC) that it had lost €100,000 worth of produce, an estimate that excluded additional losses from closing the shop. Carrefour stated that the incident affected 15 of its Belgian stores, though measures were taken to keep all shops open. In Sweden, an ICA spokesperson confirmed a small number of stores operating outside its central network were affected. An ICA branch in Sjöbo wrote on social media that hackers had set its freezer temperatures to 50 degrees Celsius, according to the BBC. Meanwhile, Coop told the BBC that seven of its 800 Swedish stores were affected, but the situation was contained and under control.

Both Belgium and Sweden's national cyber-security agencies are monitoring the incident, according to BBC News.

Background

According to BBC News, this incident follows a similar cyber-attack last month that affected hundreds of French supermarkets. Details regarding who is behind the latest attack remain unclear, while affected companies and local branches have worked to manage the aftermath, discard spoiled goods, and reopen stores where possible.

Why it matters

For readers in Pakistan and around the globe, large-scale digital disruptions to critical retail infrastructure highlight the growing vulnerability of automated supply chains and temperature-controlled food logistics to malicious cyber activity.