Cyber Attack Turns Supermarket Freezers Into Ovens In Sweden, Belgium; Food Worth ...

Store managers say they were unable to control freezer temperatures as hot air flooded refrigeration units.

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Supermarket freezers in Sweden and Belgium were suddenly heated to temperatures as high as 55°C on Monday, destroying food stocks worth millions of euros in a wave of cyber incidents that has raised fresh concerns the vulnerability of critical infrastructure. The disruption comes weeks after hundreds of supermarkets in France were targeted in similar attacks, with temperatures in one refrigerator reportedly reaching 80°C.

Stores belonging to Sweden’s Ica and Coop chains were among those affected, while the systems of Ahold Delhaize supermarkets in Belgium were also hit. In southern Sweden, Rickard Nilsson, head of an Ica store in Sjöbo, described how staff had lost control of the refrigeration systems.

“We can’t adjust the temperatures, we can’t change them. Hot air is blowing into the freezers. Everything is ruined," Nilsson told Aftonbladet. He said temperatures exceeding 50°C had destroyed food worth hundreds of thousands of Swedish krona.

The disruption affected around 40 Delhaize stores in Belgium, along with 15 Carrefour outlets and five Spar shops, according to local media reports. In Sweden, six Coop stores and at least four Ica outlets were affected, according to company statements.

The incidents follow a series of attacks on French supermarkets last month, which are being investigated by the cybercrime unit of the Paris public prosecutor’s office and France’s national cybersecurity agency, Anssi.

The attacks have also drawn attention to vulnerabilities in the software used to manage commercial refrigeration systems. Many of the affected fridges and freezers were running software developed by Danfoss, a large Danish industrial group.

Cybersecurity researchers at Claroty said in an August report that they had “identified multiple vulnerabilities" in Danfoss systems. The company subsequently fixed the vulnerabilities.

Danfoss said last month that the attacks had affected refrigeration systems that were no longer receiving security updates and were running outdated firmware. The company did not immediately respond to a request for on Monday.

Ahold Delhaize said it was aware of “an IT incident affecting the refrigeration systems in a number of Delhaize stores" and was working to assess the situation.

The incidents underline warnings from cybersecurity experts the potential consequences of attacks on critical infrastructure, including power plants and food retail networks, particularly where outdated software and weak IT security leave systems exposed.

Supermarket freezers in Sweden and Belgium were suddenly heated to temperatures as high as 55°C, ruining food stocks worth millions of euros.

Investigators noted that many of the affected refrigerators and freezers ran software developed by Danfoss, with attacks targeting systems that used outdated firmware and lacked recent security updates.

Stores belonging to Sweden’s Ica and Coop chains, alongside Ahold Delhaize, Carrefour, and Spar outlets in Belgium, were impacted by the temperature spikes.