Supermarket freezers across Europe hit by cyber attack

Which supermarkets and countries have been afftected?

Fridges and freezers in supermarkets across seven European countries were hit by a suspected cyber attack on Monday (2 November).

In a similar occurrence to what happened in France last month where hundreds of food stores were affected, systems were set to 50 degrees Celcius (122 degrees Fahrenheit), causing millions of euros of chilled and frozen food to spoil and be thrown out.

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The majority of stores affected were in Belgium and Luxembourg, though shops in Sweden, Ireland, Estonia, Finland and the Netherlands also reported instances.

Supermarkets are still working out the cost of this most recent attack.

"They 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 told Reuters. "The repeated occurrence of these cyberattacks is deeply concerning."

This concern is being discussed by cybersecurity experts after two similar attacks in less than a month - Tom Hegel from SentinelOne, says businesses need to be cautious of sacrificing security for convenience.

"Once an attacker can operate those controls, legitimate functions such as defrosting become tools for disruption," he said to the BBC.

"Changing a setting can destroy physical stock, not just interrupt a computer system."

As well as businesses, the general public are being urged to be vigilant - a Samsung smart fridge was hacked more than 10 years ago, so attacks on domestic appliances like white goods and central heating could affect day-to-day living just as much as turning up the temperature of freezers could lead to a potential disruption of the supply chain.

Ciaran Martin, former chief executive of the UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), says consumers should keep devices updated and use multi-factor verification where possible.

"I know it's a pain, but it only takes a few seconds," he said.

It comes as the UK Government launches its own campaign urging residents to stockpile ahead of any potential disruption including severe weather and cyber attacks.

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