Early this Monday, November 2, stores and supermarkets in at least seven countries, including Belgium, Luxembourg, Finland, Estonia and Sweden, reported a sudden increase in temperature in their refrigerators and freezers, in an apparent cyberattack targeting their refrigeration systems. These incidents come after a similar event that affected hundreds of supermarkets in France last October, which caused the loss of multiple foodstuffs and even fires.

First modification: 11/02/2026 - 17:34 Last modification: 11/02/2026 - 17:43

The supermarket chains Ahold Delhaize and Colruyt reported this Monday, November 2, that, during the night, a computer incident affected the refrigeration and freezing systems in dozens of their establishments in Belgium and Luxembourg. For their part, the Swedish chains ICA and Coop also recorded similar temperature increases; one of the establishments directly pointed to a cyber attack as the cause.

These incidents follow an attack in France last month, in which police say hackers took control of the refrigeration units of hundreds of supermarkets, raising temperatures to 50°C, leading to fires and the loss of vast tonnes of food.

This time, the food distribution chain Delhaize detected an increase in temperature in its refrigeration systems, according to its spokesperson, Sarah De Meester. The company is currently investigating what happened.

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Stephan Moelans, CEO of the Belgian refrigeration company Sabcobel - which manages Delhaize's systems - told the Belgian news agency that it was a cyber attack in which the units' evaporators were set to defrost mode. When contacted by the Reuters news agency, Moelans' office declined to comment.

Read alsoSupermarkets in France, victims of a cyber attack that damaged dozens of kilos of food

“It is a cyber attack; there is no other explanation”

Carrefour Belgium reported incidents in about 15 of its 700 stores in the country. “It is a cyber attack; there is no other explanation,” stressed Mich Vergauwen, spokesperson for that supermarket chain in the country.

Likewise, a spokesperson for Ikea Belgium pointed out that its store in Mons, in the southwest of the nation, suffered a computer attack that caused a sudden increase in the temperature in its freezers during the early hours of this November 2.

This is the only Ikea establishment affected, as it uses a different service provider than its other stores in Belgium, the spokesperson added, without specifying which provider it is.

A spokesperson for Colruyt Group, which operates Spar stores in Belgium under a franchise system, said five of its stores suffered an attack on their refrigeration systems. Cyberattacks constitute “a deliberate attempt to disrupt” the European Union's food supply and undermine consumer confidence in it, European Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Christophe Hansen said on Monday.

He noted that, while “food security is not currently at risk (...) food waste and the impact on businesses are real.”

Last month, the company Ahold reported a cybersecurity incident to Dutch police after detecting suspicious activity on its infrastructure.

From cooling and heating systems to security cameras and alarm networks, an increasing range of devices – once largely mechanical – can now be monitored and controlled remotely, creating new opportunities for cybercriminals.

Authorities have not indicated who could be behind the incidents that occurred last month. No one has claimed authorship.

Read alsoFrench supermarkets suffer cyber attacks against refrigerators and freezers

Stores in Sweden also affected

John Billow, director of Sweden's national cybersecurity center, told Reuters that several incidents involving refrigeration systems in grocery stores across the country are being worked on.

A Swedish ICA chain store reported via social media that the temperature of its refrigerators and freezers had been “hacked” overnight, adjusting to 50°C. Later, he announced that the establishment had already opened its doors.

At an ICA Baronen store in Stockholm, a notice indicated that all freezers were out of order due to a cyber attack. The establishment's sales manager indicated that the attack occurred at 2:00 in the morning (01:00 GMT) and was detected at 5:30 in the morning.

“We are aware that a limited number of stores were affected by an incident overnight, which impacted their refrigeration and freezing systems,” a spokesperson for ICA, a private equity firm, said in an email.

The Coop food retail group, also privately held, informed the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet that six of its stores had been affected by similar incidents. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“In recent weeks we have detected a considerable number of operational technology devices exposed in Sweden, for which we have highlighted the need to perform updates or apply patches,” explained Billow, from the cybersecurity center. In Finland, abnormal temperatures were also detected in some smaller supermarkets belonging to the Kesko group.

"We are currently investigating the cause; interference via the network has not been ruled out," Petri Kayhko, head of corporate security at Kesko, told AFP.

Roni Kokkola, an information security specialist at the National Cybersecurity Center – part of the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency (Traficom) – did not rule out the possibility of cyber interference “as far as Finland is concerned”.

"We have observed this in Europe in recent months, so it was to be expected that the phenomenon would spread beyond France to other countries," he told AFP.

“Nowadays, it is very common for all types of vulnerabilities to be exploited in an increasingly active and rapid manner.”

This article was adapted from its original English version

With Reuters and AFP

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