Suspected Cyber attacks hit supermarket refrigeration across Europe

Suspected cyber attacks have disrupted cooling systems at supermarket chains across Europe, repeating earlier intrusions in which attackers altered refrigeration equipment in hundreds of French stores, Industrial Cyber reported.

The latest suspected attacks, which surfaced in Sweden, Belgium, and Luxembourg, came weeks after similar incidents in France where attackers altered cooling equipment in hundreds of stores, causing major food losses. Secomea, a Danish company that provides industrial cybersecurity and secure remote access, issued an urgent warning in response to the incidents. The firm called for stronger controls on how technicians and outside service providers connect to critical equipment, pointing out that attacks on operational technology can produce immediate physical consequences, unlike traditional cyber attacks focused on stealing data or disrupting IT services.

Michael Ferdinandsen, who leads Secomea, said these incidents demonstrate that cybersecurity is no longer solely about protecting information. “These incidents illustrate why cybersecurity is no longer just about protecting information,” he stated. He explained that intruders who disrupt operational technology create physical consequences, and that retailers need remote connectivity but must control equipment access, reach, and permitted actions. When refrigeration systems are compromised, they can cause food to spoil, operations to halt, major financial losses, and food safety risks.

Modern refrigeration systems depend on remote connectivity for efficient and reliable operation. Remote access lets technicians and service providers monitor temperatures, respond to alarms, diagnose faults, and service equipment at multiple sites. This setup helps reduce response times and prevent equipment failures, which is essential for maintaining food quality and safety across widespread locations.

Still, remote connectivity opens potential attack vectors, particularly when operational equipment is directly exposed to the internet or when remote users receive wider access than they require. The balance between connectivity and security is especially difficult for grocery chains that operate many sites, refrigeration systems, and external service providers, each with its own access requirements.

Varied approaches used by suppliers make it harder to maintain consistent IT and security oversight of who can reach critical infrastructure. While companies have spent heavily on corporate IT security, operational equipment often poses a distinct challenge. These systems were designed for long-term reliable operation, sometimes for decades, without the connectivity and security features common now. Using conventional IT remote access approaches without accounting for these differences can create unnecessary exposure.

Protecting refrigeration systems does not mean eliminating remote connectivity. Retailers need a framework that lets technicians do essential maintenance while ensuring operational equipment access remains controlled and accountable. Secomea’s OT-native architecture handles this by controlling connections at the individual asset level rather than granting broad network access. The company’s platform deploys Edge Gateways close to assets, creating secure connections to operational equipment, and employs centralized access controls, granular permissions, and audit logging to manage and monitor connections.

AK-Centralen, a Danish firm that specializes in refrigeration monitoring, depends on Secomea technology to keep watch on cooling systems at more than 1,500 supermarkets across the country. This protected connection allows monitoring and service tasks without requiring direct access to supermarket internal networks, which keeps the retailer’s own systems out of reach.

Third-party specialists are taking on growing responsibility for connected operational equipment that touches facilities management, power systems, industrial machinery, and supply chain infrastructure. In interconnected environments, organizations must apply consistent methods for controlling third-party access, limiting permissions to necessary equipment, and monitoring remote activity. Secure remote access is merely one component of protection; additional measures include patch management, continuous monitoring, network segmentation, and vulnerability management. Investigators are still examining the latest suspected attacks, and the incidents demonstrate that security failures in operational environments can quickly turn into business continuity problems.