Cyberattacks raise supermarket freezer temperatures to 50°C in Belgium and Sweden

The incidents come weeks after a similar attack on supermarket refrigerators in France.

We’ve been working all night and morning to disconnect the affected units from the network

We’ve been working all night and morning to disconnect the affected units from the network

Bloomberg reports that hackers targeted supermarkets owned by Dutch company Ahold Delhaize, as well as ICA and Coop stores in Sweden. As in the attack in France weeks earlier, hackers remotely raised the temperatures in internet-connected freezers to 50 degrees Celsius, rapidly defrosting their contents and likely destroying millions of dollars’ worth of goods.

This is reported by Tom’s Hardware .

According to Belga News Agency, the attack on refrigeration units at Belgian supermarkets began around midnight on Sunday. Sabcobel, a refrigeration contractor in the region, estimates that at least twenty units have been affected across Belgium. The report names Delhaize, Carrefour and Spar among the affected chains. Hackers activated the freezers’ built-in defrost mode remotely, overriding the temperature and defrost duration – the same method used in France.

Sabcobel CEO Stephan Moelans said the company had been working “very hard” to protect its fridges against the vulnerability, but that physical modifications to the units are needed. The company said the simplest interim solution is to switch the units to a secure internet connection, a step most of its customers took after the attack in France.

In Sweden, ICA and Coop have reported similar disruptions. Aftonbladet reports that refrigerators and freezers were affected “in several ICA and Coop stores.” Pictures show staff throwing out shopping carts full of goods. Ica Kvantum wrote on : “We are extremely sad and working hard to get everything back up and running.”

The anonymous Sikilik hacker group claims it breached Russia’s election infrastructure and contractors shortly before the State Duma vote.

Belgium vows to strengthen NATO ties and boost defense spending, returning as a reliable ally while NATO grows more unified after Russia’s war in Ukraine.

NATO has launched land operations to reinforce defenses in Sweden and Finland, activating a Forward Land Forces Finland rapid response unit and coordinating regional deployments across Baltic and northern sea routes.