Second Cyberattack Wave on European Supermarket Fridges Spoils Food by Pushing Freezers to 50°C
A new round of cyberattacks on supermarket refrigeration systems across Europe has seen hackers remotely push freezer temperatures up to 50°C, forcing stores to dump spoiled food and pull chilled products from sale.
Supermarket chains across Europe are dealing with another round of cyberattacks that have turned their own refrigeration systems into a liability and left managers throwing away stock.
Security reporting says hackers have again gained remote access to network‑connected cooling systems in recent days and changed temperature settings. In some cases, freezers were driven up to 50°C. That is far above safe levels for any frozen products and quickly makes meat, dairy and other perishable goods unusable.
Stores hit by the attacks have had to discard food from affected fridges and freezers and temporarily remove products from shelves while systems are inspected. For individual branches this can mean empty chilled sections; scaled across chains and countries, it becomes a significant waste of stock.
This is described as a second wave of cyberattacks using the same basic method, suggesting that whoever is responsible has found a repeatable way to reach supermarket refrigeration controls via the internet. The reports say the incidents affect multiple European countries, although they don’t specify which ones or which chains have been hit.
The attacks highlight how much modern supermarkets depend on connected equipment. Temperature control units, often managed centrally or by outside service providers, now sit on networks that can be reached from outside the store if security is weak. A change in one setting on a remote console can ruin an entire freezer’s contents without touching any traditional IT system such as payment terminals.
For shoppers, the most visible signs are temporarily bare refrigerated aisles and limited choice in chilled goods. For supermarket operators, the costs run deeper: destroyed stock, checks across many sites, and the prospect of tighter oversight if food safety regulators take an interest.
What matters now is how retailers and authorities respond. Public attribution of the attacks, moves by regulators to enforce stronger protection on industrial control systems in food retail, and visible technical steps by chains to harden remote access and separate critical equipment from the wider internet will show whether this second wave becomes a turning point or simply a template for future attackers.
Sources
- OSINT