Supermarket fridges and freezers in several European countries hit by suspected cyber-attacks

Supermarkets in Sweden, Belgium and Luxembourg reported on Monday that fridge and freezer temperatures rose overnight in dozens of stores, in what appeared to be a cyber-attack, and some had to throw out food. Delhaize, owned by Ahold Delhaize, said an IT incident hit about 40 stores in Belgium and Luxembourg. Spokesperson Sarah De Meester said cooling-system temperatures had risen and the incident was under investigation. Colruyt reported a similar overnight incident, and Carrefour said 15 of its Belgian stores were affected. Swedish chain Coop said six stores were hit, while ICA cited a limited number. One Delhaize branch in Hoeilaart said it lost €100,000 of produce. Belgium's and Sweden's cyber-security agencies said they were monitoring, and it is unclear who is responsible. The incidents come less than three weeks after an attack on French chains sent fridge temperatures as high as 122F in hundreds of outlets.

Left-leaning outlets The Guardian and CBS News frame this as the second suspected attack after France. The Guardian leads with the chains' own statements, citing Coop's comments to Aftonbladet, Le Soir's list of affected Belgian stores and Sabcobel chief executive Stephan Moelans on technicians mobilised at 1am. CBS leans on Reuters, notes Ahold's October report to Dutch police, names the French chains E. Leclerc, Intermarché and Cooperative U, and raises concern about interlinked infrastructure. Both use cautious words such as "suspected" and "apparent". Alternative outlets BBC News and AP differ by widening the geography and stressing losses: the BBC adds 13 SuperValu shops in Ireland, a 50C freezer setting at one ICA store and the Hoeilaart loss, while AP adds Estonia. Right-leaning outlets had not reported this story at the time of writing, while left-leaning and alternative outlets had.