Freezer cyberattacks spread to Germany, Romania and UK

Hackers took remote control of refrigeration systems at supermarkets in at least 11 European countries this week. The attacks pushed some freezer temperatures to 50°C and forced stores to throw out spoiled food. The European Union called the wave a deliberate attempt to disrupt its food supply chain. On Tuesday, Germany, Romania and the United Kingdom joined the list of affected countries, and Italy's government held emergency talks with its intelligence chiefs, AFP reported. No group has claimed responsibility.afp.com

More than 100 stores saw their fridges and freezers heat up overnight from Sunday to Monday, according to SecurityWeek. The attacks closely resemble a wave that hit around 700 French supermarkets on October 11 and 12. "They are a deliberate attempt to disrupt our food supply chain and undermine consumers' confidence in it," EU food and agriculture commissioner Christophe Hansen said, according to AFP.yahoo.com+1

Stores across the continent

Belgium was among the hardest hit, and federal prosecutors there have opened an investigation. Carrefour said 15 of its roughly 700 Belgian stores were affected, while Delhaize, Colruyt and Intermarché also reported failures. Ahold Delhaize Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize N.V. said an "IT incident" affected several dozen stores, mostly in Belgium and some in Luxembourg. In Ireland, Musgrave said 13 SuperValu stores were hit. Sweden's Coop reported problems at seven of its roughly 800 stores. "Everything is destroyed," said Engla Ingwall, a sales manager at a Stockholm ICA store.afp.com+2

In Italy, the government said the impact was "highly limited." It said the affected outlets had "outdated security systems, with interfaces exposed directly to the internet and weaknesses in authentication mechanisms". About 20 Italian outlets were reportedly hit, including four Coop stores in Sicily.afp.com

Old, exposed controllers

Danfoss systems were again among those targeted. The company recommended that refrigeration systems should not be directly reachable from the internet. French investigators had earlier pointed to outdated remote-control modules made by Danfoss and by U.S.-based Copeland. Coop Sweden said its affected stores had been running on older 4G connections. The company is now moving them to 5G and has disconnected the stores' refrigeration systems from the internet.apnews.com+1

Richard Horne, head of Britain's National Cyber Security Centre, told the BBC that the threat covers "the entire food supply chain." His staff worked through the night to warn organizations running exposed technology.bbc.co.uk

U.S. military link probed

The investigation now reaches across the Atlantic. The Pentagon's inspector general is looking into refrigeration failures in August at U.S. military commissaries, including at Fort Huachuca in Arizona, The New York Times reported. The Army's Cyber Field Office said it is working with French law enforcement to understand the outages in Europe.nytimes.com

The incidents have raised concerns about state-backed hybrid attacks. Still, one official quoted by AFP said: "It seems semi-amateurish. We do not suspect, under any circumstances, that it is a state actor."afp.com