Hackers make UK meat suppliers' freezers heat up overnight after a wave of cyber attacks on supermarket fridges across Europe
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.
The Association of Independent Meat Suppliers confirmed that overnight heating faults struck fridges belonging to a number of its roughly 300 members, though no meat was lost as the abattoir units were empty at the time. NCSC chief executive Richard Horne said he had "worked through the night" to alert British businesses that may have been at risk, warning that chronic underinvestment had left refrigeration technology dangerously exposed.
Supermarket fridges in Belgium, Estonia, Ireland, Finland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Sweden reached temperatures of 50°C; one Belgian butcher suffered losses of around €15,000 of meat.
Cybersecurity experts said the attacks on decoy fridge controls bore hallmarks associated with previous Russian operations.
NCSC boss Horne said the incidents reinforced the Defence Secretary's advice that Britons should stockpile supplies.
