SuperValu stores hit by cyber attack now back to normal

Issues with the refrigeration systems at 13 SuperValu stores across Ireland have now been fully resolved after a suspected cyber attack affected them.

Musgrave, which owns SuperValu, said in a statement that all stores are now operating as normal.

"Replenishment of chilled and frozen ranges in the affected stores is well under way, and we are working to ensure customers can get everything they need as quickly as possible," the statement said.

"We would like to thank our customers for their patience and understanding," it added

Earlier, Musgrave confirmed that the cyber incident was limited to a specific model of refrigeration. It said it was monitoring systems alerted them to the issue and immediate action was taken.

It said that as a precaution, chilled and frozen products in the affected stores were removed from sale, and all other products remain available as normal.

Musgrave said customer safety was its first priority, and that customers could be confident that products on sale in its stores had been stored at safe temperatures.

A number of stores, including the SuperValu in Bray Co Wicklow, did not open on time today as planned while staff dealt with the issue.

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Among the other stores affected were; SuperValu in Lucan, Blanchardstown and Ranelagh in Dublin, and one store in Waterford.

SuperValu said it is working with cybersecurity specialists to resolve the issue and restore normal operations as quickly as possible.

Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan was briefed on the situation and the National Cyber Security Centre was also closely monitoring it.

Meanwhile, dozens of Belgian grocery stores and an Ikea superstore also confirmed they had been hit by a refrigerator cyber attack.

A handful of Swedish supermarkets also saw temperatures in their refrigerators and freezers soar today, Swedish chains Ica and Coop said without giving a cause.

Carrefour Belgium reported disruption in 15 of its 700 stores in Belgium. "It's a cyber attack, there is no other reason," said Mich Vergauwen, a spokesman for Carrefour Belgium.

An Ikea Belgium spokeswoman likewise said a cyber attack hit its store in Mons, southwestern Belgium, causing the temperature of freezers to rise suddenly in the early hours of Monday.

It is the only Ikea store affected because it uses a different service provider than others in Belgium, the spokeswoman added, without identifying the provider.

The Colruyt and Intermarche supermarket chains likewise said they had been hit by technical problems affecting fridges in five and around 15 stores respectively, without confirming if a cyberattack was suspected.

"In some cases, it involved only a single refrigerator, so the impact was quite limited," an Intermarche spokesman said, adding that the incidents took place overnight Sunday into Monday.

European supermarket chain - Ahold Delhaize - also said that an "IT incident" hit fridges and freezers in dozens ‌of ⁠its supermarkets in Belgium and Luxembourg today.

The ⁠retailer last month reported ⁠a cybersecurity incident to Dutch police.

Last month, major French supermarket chains said they were hit by a cyber attack that caused their refrigerators to shoot up in temperature in hundreds of stores.

Targeting supermarkets 'very telling'

A spokesperson for EU Agriculture and Food Commissioner Christophe Hanson said that the Commissioner has said multiple times that food security is an integral part of security.

"The empty shelves in the supermarkets targeted are very telling in that regard. We are aware of these incidents," the spokesperson added.

"These incidents show that cyber attacks can disrupt services, affect businesses and directly affect citizens' daily lives. The EU has several tools in place to respond to such incidents."

The spokesperson said: "The Commission will continue to work with member states to strengthen cyber security across the union, including under the Cyber Resilience Act, the Cyber Solidarity Act and NIS2."

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'The weaponisation of food'

Conor Flynn, a cybersecurity expert and Managing Director of Security Solutions at Waystone in Ireland has said that we are now "looking at what we call the weaponisation of food".

Mr Flynn said today's attack on supermarkets is the first of its kind in Ireland but has been seen across Europe in recent months.

"We’ve seen retailers hit here, very large retailers hit across Europe, but soon we could see mass distribution warehouses, food held for intervention in the event of a famine, or other food safety outbreaks throughout the world."

"This is a very worrying development, and it's one that we have to step up the security work to make sure that the operational technology is no longer vulnerable to these kind of attacks."

He said operational technology had also been targeted across the world in the past with regard to water systems, utilities, as well as sewage, electricity, gas and oil supplies.

"They’re very easy to target at infrastructure level. There is a directive from Europe called the NIS II, which is principled around securing these. And more and more organisations are now going to have to look into their supply chain to make sure that that work has been done to prevent this kind of attack happening in the future."

Mr Flynn said any connection between the attacks in Ireland today and those across Europe was likely down to the manufacture of the online equipment used in refrigeration.

He said "the fact that there's a wide spread across Europe means there's probably a dominant manufacturer that is supplying the equipment to these retailers, and unfortunately, it demonstrates that there wasn't sufficient testing and securing of these devices before they're rolled out".