Europe Experiences a Second Wave of Cyberattacks, Supermarket Fridges Targeted

More than 100 stores were targeted in a second wave of cyber attacks on supermarket refrigeration systems on Monday, Nov. 2, as hackers remotely upped the temperatures in fridges and freezers. Retailers across the EU, including in Belgium, Estonia, Ireland, Luxembourg and Sweden, had to dispose of ruined goods as the fridge temperatures were set at roughly 50°C (122°F), AP reported. At least 17 businesses in the Netherlands were also affected, according to the NL Times.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. According to Reuters, it remains unclear who carried out the attack. So far, no group has claimed responsibility. However, Monday’s incidents closely mirror last month’s attack in France, giving Europe fresh cause for concern on top of long-standing fears that hybrid warfare could be increased ahead of Christmas. Stores hit in overnight attacks The attacks took place in the early hours, while most stores were empty. In Stockholm, an ICA franchise was hit around 2 a.m. local time, with staff discovering the damage only after arriving at work, sales manager Engla Ingwall told Reuters. “Everything is destroyed,” she said. More than 50 stores were affected in Belgium, according to a cybersecurity outlet, The Record. Delhaize, Carrefour, Spar franchises run by Colruyt Group and an IKEA store in Mons all reported disruptions, as did several Delhaize shops in neighboring Luxembourg. Smaller businesses were not spared either – a butcher in Hove, south of Antwerp, lost meat worth an estimated €15,000 (approximately $16,800), Reuters reported. Other Topics of Interest Frontloading the Support for Ukraine Only Ukraine is holding Russia and its allies back from an open attack on Europe. Elsewhere, Swedish chain Coop said seven of its stores were affected, while Irish wholesaler Musgrave cleared frozen goods from 13 SuperValu outlets, Reuters reported. By the afternoon, Musgrave said the issue had been resolved, according to AP. In Estonia, a refrigeration contractor said it had stopped an intrusion within minutes. Finland’s retailer Kesko told public broadcaster Yle that several of its smaller stores experienced temperature problems overnight, noting that hacking had not been ruled out. Old systems left exposed Much of the damage appears to stem from outdated equipment. According to NL Times, the attackers largely went after refrigeration controllers made by Danfoss and Copeland. A Danfoss spokesperson told the outlet that the company had urged Dutch customers in mid-October to disconnect their systems from the open internet. The units targeted in the Netherlands had reportedly ignored that advice, running on the unsecured networks with factory-set passwords. In Belgium, the head of installation company Sabcobel said some affected units could not be fixed with a simple update and needed hardware changes, The Record reported. The pattern is striking similarly to the Oct. 12 attack, when hackers took control of cooling systems at hundreds of French supermarkets, causing fires and forcing stores to discard spoiled food. According to Reuters, Intermarché alone counted about 150 affected stores at the time. The Paris prosecutor’s office later put the number of victims at around 700, The Record reported. Sabotage suspected While investigators have yet to establish whether the two waves are connected, they come as Europe is increasingly preparing for Russian sabotage campaigns – something Moscow has consistently denied. “They [the latest incidents] are a deliberate attempt to disrupt our food supply chain and undermine ​consumers’ confidence in it – a warning that we must take seriously,” EU commissioner for agriculture Christophe Hansen said, according to Reuters. “The repeated occurrence of these cyberattacks is deeply concerning,” he continued. Tom Hegel, a researcher at a cybersecurity firm SentinelOne, told Reuters that the absence of ransom demands suggested sabotage rather than profit. In any case, the attackers would be hard to trace, he warned. “A teenager and an intelligence service would look much the same from the defender’s side,” Hegel said. According to The Record, Belgium’s Center for Cybersecurity said those responsible may never be identified, voicing concerns that artificial intelligence (AI) was making such campaigns easier to carry out. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 90% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.