TLDR
- Hackers raised temperatures in fridges and freezers at dozens of European supermarkets on Monday.
- Stores in Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden, Ireland, the Netherlands, Estonia and Finland were affected.
- Some units used temperature control technology from Danish firm Danfoss.
- No group has claimed responsibility, and the source of the attack is unknown.
- It follows a similar attack on hundreds of French supermarkets last month.
Hackers hit supermarket refrigeration systems across Europe on Monday. The attack raised temperatures in fridges and freezers at dozens of stores. Food had to be thrown away in several countries.
BREAKING: 7 EU countries have now reported CYBERATTACKS targeting refrigeration systems.
🇳🇱Netherlands: At least 17 businesses, including butcher shops and cold storage facilities.
🇫🇮Finland: Some K Group stores reported temporary overnight temperature irregularities.… https://t.co/AHUOdQaeWG
— Coin Bureau (@coinbureau) November 2, 2026
Stores in Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden, Ireland, the Netherlands, Estonia and Finland were affected. Around 40 Delhaize supermarkets in Belgium and Luxembourg were hit. A smaller number of shops were hit in the other countries.
The incident echoed an attack in France last month. Police said hackers took control of cooling units at hundreds of supermarkets there. That attack caused fires and food losses.
What Happened in Stores
An ICA franchise store in Stockholm said the attack happened at 2 a.m. but was only noticed hours later. Sales manager Engla Ingwall said all freezers reached 50 degrees Celsius. She said everything was destroyed.
BREAKING:
This morning’s cyberattack against supermarket fridges and freezers has now spread to Belgium, Sweden, Luxembourg and Estonia.
The hackers increased the temperature up to 50C. Food worth millions of euros has been spoiled.
Experts warn that such cyberattacks on… pic.twitter.com/Qr6TU7cYVk
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) November 2, 2026
An ICA store in Sjöbo, Sweden, said its fridges and freezers were hacked overnight. The store closed for a time and has since reopened. ICA said a limited number of stores outside its central network were affected.
Swedish chain Coop said 7 of its 800 stores were hit. It said the situation was contained and under control. Coop named Danfoss as one of its suppliers.
Carrefour said 15 of its 700 stores in Belgium were affected. It said it took steps to keep all shops open. Colruyt Group said five Spar stores it supplies in Belgium had fridge systems attacked.
IKEA said its store in Mons, Belgium, was affected. It said it could not rule out problems at other locations. In Finland, some K-stores reported fridge malfunctions, and Kesko said its security experts were investigating.
In Ireland, wholesaler Musgrave said 13 SuperValu stores were affected. It removed some chilled and frozen products from sale. The company said the impact was limited to a specific model of refrigerator.
A Delhaize branch in Hoeilaart, Belgium, told Het Laatste Nieuws it lost €100,000 of produce. The manager said that figure did not include losses from closing the shop. A Belgian butcher, Luc De Laet, said about €15,000 of meat was ruined.
What Officials and Experts Say
Danfoss told Dutch public radio that at least 17 companies in the Netherlands were attacked overnight. These included butcher shops and small neighbourhood stores. A Selver supermarket in Estonia was also affected.
Sabcobel, a Belgian company that makes some of the fridges, said evaporators were switched to defrost mode. This caused the units to warm up. The company believes the same method was used in France.
Sabcobel CEO Stephan Moelans said the units need physical changes, not just software updates. He said many customers moved to secure internet connections after the French attack. Danfoss said it has been working with customers on fixes.
Katrien Eggers of Belgium’s Centre for Cybersecurity said it may never be known who is behind the attack. She said AI can now be used to exploit weaknesses in IT systems. Belgium and Sweden’s cybersecurity agencies said they were monitoring the incident.
No one has claimed responsibility. Moscow has repeatedly denied involvement in sabotage or hybrid warfare operations. Reuters said it could not establish who was behind Monday’s attacks or whether they were linked to France.
Tom Hegel of SentinelOne said the lack of financial demands points to sabotage. EU agriculture commissioner Christophe Hansen called the attacks a deliberate attempt to disrupt the food supply chain. The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre said no incidents have been reported in the UK.
In the US, authorities are investigating refrigeration malfunctions at American military bases in August. They are working with French officials to see whether the incidents are linked.
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