Britain is on alert after hackers shut down supermarket fridges and freezers across seven European countries, forcing stores to bin food
Empty refrigerated counters inside an Auchan supermarket in Olsztyn, Poland, as Sweden's national cyber-security centre confirmed it was working multiple cases simultaneously following the overnight attacks.
Hackers struck seven European countries overnight, forcing supermarkets to destroy millions of pounds of food after remotely cranking freezer temperatures from as low as -27C to 50C. Retailers including Ahold Delhaize, Carrefour, Colruyt, ICA, Coop, SuperValu and an IKEA store in Belgium were all hit — with one ICA manager in Stockholm reporting "everything is destroyed." The EU's food and agriculture commissioner, Christophe Hansen, condemned the attacks as "a deliberate attempt to disrupt our food supply chain."
The attack follows an almost identical strike in France last month, when hackers hit up to 700 supermarkets, triggering fires and food losses running into the tens of millions of euros.
UK researchers have found that more than 800 refrigeration and building-control interfaces belonging to British retailers are currently reachable via the public internet.
No group has claimed responsibility and no ransom demand has been reported, raising fears the attacks are state-sponsored hybrid warfare rooted in hostility that has grown since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
