Britain's cyber chief confirms hackers have exploited UK food suppliers' freezers after a wave of attacks on European supermarkets
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.Seven European countries were struck overnight by hackers who remotely cranked supermarket freezer temperatures to 50C, following an almost identical attack on up to 700 French supermarkets last month that triggered fires and food losses running into tens of millions of euros.
Dr Richard Horne, chief executive of the National Cyber Security Centre, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that staff had "worked through the night" to warn British businesses after hackers used outdated refrigeration software to push freezer temperatures as high as 55C across nine European countries. The British Association of Independent Meat Suppliers confirmed some of its 300-plus members were affected as "collateral" damage, though none lost stock. Horne endorsed government advice for Britons to stockpile essentials, adding: "It's your life, choose wisely."
Temperature alarms were disabled first, followed by thermostat overrides, leaving managers unaware of any problem until the damage was already done.
More than 800 British retail cooling systems are reachable via the public internet, with experts cautioning that AI now enables attackers to identify and exploit such vulnerabilities "at a scale that was once unimaginable."
Horne said it is "too early" to attribute responsibility for the attacks, with Russia, China and Iran all named in a new NCSC annual report examining state-backed cyber threats.
