Key Highlights
- Refrigeration systems at supermarkets in at least nine European countries reportedly overheated Monday, according to AFP.
- The EU’s food commissioner called the incidents a deliberate attempt to disrupt the food supply chain.
- Several retailers and a Swedish grocer tied the affected stores to Danfoss controllers, the same supplier linked to October’s French attack.
- No person or group has claimed responsibility, and no attribution has been made public.
BRUSSELS / STOCKHOLM, Nov. 3, 2026 — A suspected cyberattack drove up refrigeration temperatures at supermarkets in at least nine European countries on Monday, forcing some retailers to discard food. The European Union’s food commissioner described the incidents as a deliberate effort to disrupt the bloc’s food supply, AFP reported.
What Happened
AFP reported that stores in Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden reported refrigeration problems overnight. Other outlets listed fewer countries, and the count may change as retailers complete their checks.
In Sweden, an ICA Kvantum store in Sjöbo said on Facebook that its fridges and freezers had been hacked and set to 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit), the Associated Press reported. Coop said six stores in central Sweden had problems.
In Belgium, Carrefour said a cyberattack hit 15 of its more than 700 stores, NBC News reported. Delhaize said an “IT incident” affected refrigeration at several dozen stores in Belgium and Luxembourg, according to the AP. Belgian federal prosecutors have opened an investigation, AFP said.
Ireland’s SuperValu said 13 of its 223 stores were affected by a “cyber incident,” Al Jazeera reported. In Italy, at least four Coop supermarkets in Sicily and one business in Tuscany were hit, according to media reports and the national cybersecurity agency cited by AFP.
Link to the French Attack
The incidents follow an October 11-12 attack on French retailers. French Economy Minister Roland Lescure told lawmakers about 700 of the country’s roughly 10,000 supermarkets were affected, according to trade outlet ACHR News. Other reports cited lower counts.
Danfoss, the Danish manufacturer, told AFP that most affected equipment in France was “legacy” gear that no longer receives security updates. France’s cybersecurity agency, ANSSI, advised operators to disconnect affected models from the internet or restrict access, and to install updates, Al Jazeera reported.
On Monday, ICA spokesperson Helena Johansson said the affected Swedish stores used a Danfoss-supplied system, AFP reported. ICA did not confirm a cyberattack. AFP said Danfoss had not responded to its request for comment.
Belgian refrigeration firm Sabcobel, which services Delhaize, said it had begun securing installations after the French attack. Some systems had not yet been upgraded and were among those hit, AFP reported.
Why It Raises Infrastructure Concerns
EU Agriculture and Food Commissioner Christophe Hansen said the incidents are meant to undermine consumer confidence in the food supply, AFP reported.
Finland’s National Cyber Security Centre did not rule out interference. “We’ve seen this in Europe in the past few months, so it spreading beyond France to other countries has been expected,” said Roni Kokkola of Traficom, according to AFP.
Security analyst Steven Lachance told Al Jazeera that a future target could be energy infrastructure or hospitals. That is his assessment, not an established finding.
Exposure appears widespread. BleepingComputer reported in October that Shodan, a search engine for internet-connected devices, was tracking more than 4,500 Danfoss devices reachable online.
What Remains Unclear
No group or state has claimed responsibility, according to AFP. A Coop Sweden spokesperson said the company did not know who was behind the attack.
In the French case, the absence of a claim or ransom demand puzzled investigators, Reuters reported, citing a source familiar with the probe. Officials have not publicly said whether Monday’s incidents share a perpetrator with the French attack.
Reports differ on method. Sabcobel’s CEO told Belga the units’ evaporators were switched to defrost mode, according to NBC News. In Estonia, Kitman Coldtech CEO Jann Mutso said attackers reached a computer controlling refrigeration and raised the temperature, according to public broadcaster ERR via the AP. He said the response took minutes and caused no significant damage.
Italy’s government planned a cybersecurity meeting with intelligence services Tuesday, AFP reported.
Related reading: Pentagon Probes Military Commissary Freezer Failures as Suspected Cyberattack, Raising Food-Security Concerns