Hackers disrupt refrigeration systems at European supermarkets

Hackers disrupted refrigeration systems across more than 115 supermarkets in multiple European countries, including Belgium, Sweden, Ireland, and Estonia, by remotely altering temperature settings or activating defrost functions. The attack impacted stores operated by ICA, Coop, Ahold Delhaize, Carrefour, and others, leading to spoilage of frozen goods and emergency interventions. The vendor Sabcobel, which supplies refrigeration systems, indicated that the attackers exploited a known vulnerability previously used in similar attacks on French supermarkets involving Danfoss and Copeland/Dixell controllers. The incident is linked to insecure internet-facing management interfaces on refrigeration controllers, with no patch fully mitigating the risk without physical modifications.

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