Attackers remotely manipulated refrigeration control units across supermarkets in multiple European countries, switching cooling units into defrost mode and forcing stores to discard spoiled inventory.
Danfoss confirmed its hardware was involved as authorities investigate the incidents.
The incidents occurred on the night of Monday, November 2 in countries including Belgium, Sweden, Estonia, the Netherlands, Portugal, Italy, Ireland and Finland. The perpetrators changed the settings of refrigeration units to operate in defrost mode, causing them to warm up instead of keeping food cold. As a result, stores were forced to throw away fresh and frozen products or remove them from their shelves.
Where and how were stores affected?
No chain reported more than a few dozen affected stores. In Belgium, Delhaize, Carrefour, Intermarché, Spar and an IKEA store in Mons were affected, along with local businesses. At a butcher shop in Hove, Belgium, refrigerators reached 18 degrees Celsius, causing meat worth about 15.000 euros to be destroyed.
In Sweden, ICA and Coop stores were affected, with an ICA store in Siem Reap reporting refrigerators set to 50 degrees Celsius. In Estonia, a freezer in a Selver store was also set to 50 degrees Celsius, although the temperature rose only slightly and the problem was quickly resolved without damage.
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In Ireland, Musgrave has withdrawn products from 13 SuperValu stores as a precaution, while in the Netherlands at least 17 businesses, including butchers and small local shops, have been affected. In Portugal, 7 Intermarché stores were hit by an external refrigeration management company, in Italy at least 4 Coop supermarkets in Sicily, and in Finland Kesko detected unusual temperatures in smaller stores.
Danfoss' involvement and security gaps
Danish company Danfoss, which makes refrigeration control systems, confirmed that its products were involved in the incidents. The attack is reminiscent of a similar incident that occurred three weeks earlier in hundreds of French supermarkets, although no link between the two cases has been confirmed so far.
According to Danfoss, the systems attacked in the Netherlands were not connected to a secure network and were still using the original, default passwords. The company said the main problem was caused by older software and customers who had not installed the necessary updates.
Investigations by the authorities
As of Monday evening, no one had claimed responsibility for the attacks. The Belgian prosecutor's office has opened a criminal investigation into the case, while Sweden's National Cyber Security Center has begun monitoring the incidents.
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