UK meat suppliers' fridges heat up overnight after hackers hit the supermarket freezer software used 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.
Hackers took advantage of security flaws in remotely managed refrigeration software to drive temperatures inside meat suppliers' units sharply higher overnight on Monday, with one fridge recorded reaching 100C and a Swedish retailer reporting 50C. The Association of Independent Meat Suppliers confirmed that several of its roughly 300 members were caught up as "collateral" in the attack, though no meat was lost because the abattoir units stood empty at the time. NCSC chief Richard Horne said the agency had "worked through the night" warning affected businesses, while director of operations Paul Chichester described the national impact as "minimal". The incident follows a near-identical hack that hit hundreds of French supermarkets last month, causing millions of euros in damage.
In Belgium, one butcher saw roughly €15,000 of meat spoil after fridge temperatures climbed to 18C.
Cybersecurity experts said attacks on "dummy" fridge controls showed characteristics linked to previous Russian operations.
Horne warned that years of underinvestment had left essential services exposed, adding: "We know it can happen — we've seen it across Europe."
