Supermarket refrigeration systems in Sweden, Belgium and Luxembourg were hit overnight by what retailers and officials are treating as suspected cyber-attacks, weeks after a similar attack on hundreds of supermarkets in France.
In Sweden, grocery chains ICA and Coop reported sudden temperature rises in freezers at several stores. ICA said a limited number of its stores were affected overnight, while Coop told Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet that six of its stores were hit. The head of Sweden’s national cybersecurity centre, John Billow, told Reuters the centre is responding to multiple incidents affecting store cooling systems.
In Belgium and Luxembourg, dozens of Ahold Delhaize stores reported overnight temperature increases in their cooling systems, according to the Belga news agency. Stephan Moelans, chief executive of refrigeration company Sabcobel, which operates Delhaize’s systems, described the incident as a cyberattack. Ahold Delhaize itself called it an “IT incident” and said it is investigating. Colruyt Group said five of its Spar franchise shops in Belgium had their fridge systems attacked.
The incidents follow an attack in France last month in which hackers seized control of cooling units at hundreds of supermarkets, pushing fridge and freezer temperatures as high as 50 degrees Celsius (122F), spoiling food and causing fires at several stores. One Swedish store said on social media that its refrigerators and freezers had been set to the same temperature as during the attack in France.
Ahold Delhaize reported a cybersecurity incident to Dutch police last month. No group has been identified as responsible for the latest incidents.
Source: Al Jazeera (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/11/2/freezers-in-sweden-belgium-overheat-following-possible-cyberattacks)
