Cyber incident forces 13 SuperValu stores to remove refrigerated food

A suspected cyber attack on Monday affected refrigeration systems in 13 SuperValu stores across Ireland, forcing staff to remove chilled and frozen items from sale. The Irish Examiner, The Liberal, TheJournal.ie, RTÉ, and The Irish Times all reported that fresh produce and refrigerated products had to be removed or thrown away after temperatures rose. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]

Musgrave, the group that owns the SuperValu brand, confirmed the incident in a statement. The Irish Examiner, The Liberal, TheJournal.ie, and RTÉ reported that Musgrave monitoring systems alerted the company to the issue and immediate action was taken. A spokesperson stated that the cyber incident was limited to a specific model of refrigeration equipment and an investigation remains ongoing. [1][2][3][4]

SuperValu operates throughout the island of Ireland as a symbol group where individual owners run independently owned stores using the format. The Irish Examiner reported that at least one store in Munster was affected by the incident. [1][9]

The disruptions follow similar problems across Europe. As FTMQ News reported earlier, supermarket chains in Sweden, Belgium, and Luxembourg experienced overnight freezer temperature rises after a similar incident in France last month. The Irish Examiner and The Irish Times also reported that European retailers had confirmed similar temperature increases in dozens of stores overnight. [1][5][11]