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Supermarkets in Belgium, Luxembourg and Sweden reported sudden temperature spikes in fridges and freezers on Monday. Retailers suspect a cyberattack, weeks after a similar incident disrupted stores across France.
In Sweden, ICA and Coop confirmed disruptions at a limited number of stores. One ICA outlet said hackers had remotely set its freezer temperature to 50°C, while a Stockholm store reported that all its freezers had failed after a cyberattack.
Stephan Moelans, chief executive of Belgian refrigeration firm Sabcobel, said attackers switched the evaporators in affected units into defrost mode. That change stopped normal cooling and caused temperatures to climb rapidly. Ahold Delhaize said, “An overnight IT incident affected refrigeration systems at about 40 Delhaize stores in Belgium and Luxembourg. Carrefour Belgium and Spar also reported problems at a small number of outlets.”
Supermarkets removed large volumes of chilled and frozen food after the temperature rise. Some stores temporarily closed or limited their fresh-food ranges while engineers restored the systems. Local reports said the affected retailers discarded food worth thousands of euros. Others used refrigerated lorries to protect stock and reduce losses during repairs.
The attack did not appear to disrupt distribution centres or deliveries. However, it directly threatened the cold chain inside stores, where fresh and frozen products depend on stable temperatures.
The incident follows last month’s attacks in France, where hackers allegedly took control of cooling systems at hundreds of supermarkets. Authorities have not confirmed whether the latest incidents share the same source or motive.
The case shows how connected industrial controls can become targets. A breach of refrigeration software can create food-safety risks, waste inventory and disrupt daily retail operations without touching payment systems.
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