Cyberattacks Raise Supermarket Fridge Temperatures Across Seven European Countries

On November 2, 2026, supermarket refrigeration systems in at least seven European countries registered sudden temperature spikes after remote interference. Units in Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden, Ireland, Finland, Estonia and the Netherlands reached as high as 50 degrees Celsius. Stores discarded large quantities of chilled and frozen goods.

Ahold Delhaize reported an overnight IT incident affecting dozens of Delhaize stores in Belgium and Luxembourg. Colruyt confirmed problems at five Spar franchise locations in Belgium. Swedish chains ICA and Coop reported similar failures; one ICA store in Sjöbo stated on social media that its refrigerators and freezers had been set to 50 degrees. Carrefour said 15 of its 700 Belgian stores were affected. SuperValu reported issues at 13 stores in Ireland. Kesko in Finland and shops in Estonia and the Netherlands also recorded disruptions. One IKEA store in Belgium was impacted.

Belgian refrigeration company Sabcobel stated that the evaporators on affected units were switched to defrost mode, the same method used in the October attack that hit hundreds of French supermarkets and caused tens of millions of euros in losses. Sweden’s national cybersecurity centre is investigating local incidents. The European Union food and agriculture commissioner, Christophe Hansen, described the repeated attacks as a deliberate attempt to disrupt the food supply chain and undermine consumer confidence.

The October French incident affected as many as 700 stores and produced fires in some locations. The current wave has hit fewer outlets overall, but the geographic spread is wider. No group has claimed responsibility. Analysts have noted that the technique targets internet-exposed appliance management software rather than customer data or payment systems. Stores reopened after removing compromised stock and resetting controls where possible.

Retailers have increased monitoring of remote access to cooling equipment. The incidents follow a separate large-scale cryptocurrency exchange breach attributed to North Korean actors earlier in the week. Investigators have not established a link between the two events. The immediate commercial cost is measured in discarded inventory and temporary loss of cold-chain capacity; longer-term effects include higher insurance premiums for connected industrial systems and greater scrutiny of supplier software.

Exact totals of spoiled food and the number of stores ultimately affected continue to be tallied by national authorities and the chains themselves. The pattern shows that temperature controls on commercial refrigeration can be altered remotely when devices remain reachable from the internet without additional authentication layers.