Cyberattacks target supermarket refrigeration systems across Europe

On November 2, 2026, a series of cyberattacks targeted supermarket refrigeration systems across several European countries, including Sweden, Belgium, Luxembourg, Ireland, Denmark, and Estonia. Hackers manipulated digital controls to spike temperatures in freezers and refrigerators to between 50 and 70 degrees Celsius. This resulted in the destruction of perishable goods and significant financial losses for major retail chains, such as ICA and Coop in Sweden, Ahold Delhaize and Colruyt in Belgium, and SuperValu in Ireland. IKEA also reported that a store in Mons, Belgium, was impacted, forcing the disposal of food items.

These incidents follow a similar large-scale attack in France last month, which highlighted critical vulnerabilities in interconnected retail infrastructure. While European Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Christophe Hansen stated that food security is not currently at risk, he labeled the attacks as a deliberate effort to disrupt supply chains and undermine consumer confidence. Technical teams and cybersecurity authorities are currently investigating the breaches to secure affected systems and prevent further operational disruptions across the retail sector.