Who is hacking Europe’s supermarket fridges and freezers, and why?
Summary
Supermarket refrigerators and freezers malfunctioned in seven European countries after hackers remotely changed their settings, spoiling food in some stores. No group has claimed responsibility, and experts say the attackers’ identity and motive remain uncertain.Key Facts
- Affected retailers included Carrefour, Intermarché and Ikea in Belgium; Coop and ICA in Sweden; and stores in Luxembourg, Finland, Ireland and Estonia.
- Some thermostat settings were raised as high as 50C (122F).
- The incidents followed similar attacks on French retailers about three weeks earlier, which led to large amounts of food being discarded.
- The European Union condemned the incidents as a deliberate attempt to disrupt the food supply chain and weaken consumer confidence.
- Cybersecurity expert Rafe Pilling said possible explanations include a state-linked demonstration of capability or an individual hacker acting for personal reasons.
- The article says hackers may have accessed internet-connected appliance management software without using malware.
- Commercial fridge software can go long periods without updates, in part because installing patches may require machinery to go offline.
- A suspected hack may also have caused fridge malfunctions at commissaries on at least six U.S. military bases in early August, and the Pentagon is investigating.
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