Dozens of supermarkets in several European countries have faced problems with their refrigeration systems, causing damage to food products and financial losses.
A new wave of suspected cyberattacks has hit the cooling systems of dozens of supermarkets in several European countries, causing refrigerator and freezer temperatures to rise unexpectedly, albinfo.ch reports.
The incidents were reported on Monday, November 2, in Belgium, Sweden, Luxembourg, Ireland and Estonia, while similar problems have been identified in other European countries.
In some cases, temperatures in refrigeration equipment have reached up to 50 degrees Celsius, forcing supermarkets to remove or destroy food products that could no longer be stored in safe conditions.
In Belgium, the Delhaize chain has confirmed that around 40 stores have been affected by an IT incident, while Carrefour has reported problems at 15 points of sale.
Similar problems have also emerged in Sweden, where the ICA and Coop networks have reported unusual increases in temperatures in cooling systems.
In Ireland, the SuperValu chain has announced that 13 stores have been affected by a cyber incident related to a certain model of refrigeration systems.
According to reports, in some cases the suspects have remotely interfered with electronic systems, changing temperature parameters or activating the defrost function.
Belgian authorities have launched investigations to determine the cause and those responsible for the incidents.
This is not the first time that supermarket refrigeration systems have become the target of cyberattacks.
In October, hundreds of supermarkets in France faced similar problems when unauthorized persons interfered with temperature control systems, causing damage to large quantities of food and financial losses.
Recent incidents have raised concerns about the security of internet-connected devices, particularly systems that control the storage of food products.
So far, it has not been confirmed whether the incidents in different European countries are linked to each other, nor who is behind them.