Supermarkets in Belgium and Sweden reported sudden changes in the temperatures of their refrigerators and freezers on Monday, November 2, raising concerns about a cyberattack similar to those that recently occurred in France. UNN reports this, citing Bloomberg.
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Delhaize, which is owned by Dutch retailer Ahold Delhaize, confirmed that an "IT incident" occurred at approximately 40 of its stores in Belgium on Sunday evening, November 1, affecting refrigeration systems, Belgian news agency Belga reports. A small number of Carrefour Belgium and Spar supermarkets also reported a similar problem, Belga reports.
Several ICA and Coop supermarkets in Sweden are experiencing higher freezer temperatures, according to a report in the newspaper Aftonbladet. Freezer temperatures rose to 50°C, Ica Kvantum in Sjöbo, Sweden, said on its Facebook page, adding that it suspected a hack. Two more ICA stores are also reporting problems, and Coop has six affected stores in the central part of the country, Aftonbladet reports.
"We are aware that a limited number of stores were affected by an incident that occurred overnight and impacted refrigeration and freezer systems. ICA is currently supporting these stores in resolving the situation. We will provide further information when we can," an ICA Sverige spokesperson said by email to Bloomberg on Monday, November 2. The spokesperson did not confirm a cyberattack.
ICA owns approximately one-third of the Swedish grocery market, while Coop has about 17%.
These incidents raise concerns about a repeat of the disruptions that occurred in France last month, when 700 stores were affected by cyberattacks that disabled refrigeration systems and forced stores to throw away products. The affected companies included Intermarché, Coopérative U and Carrefour SA. No group has publicly claimed responsibility for the hack.
Last month, a cyberattack caused several days of service disruptions and empty shelves at Ahold Delhaize stores in the Netherlands. The company has still not reported what exactly caused the problem.
In the United States, the Pentagon said last week that it was investigating a malfunction involving freezers used to store food at several military facilities.