Irish and European authorities investigate cyberattacks on supermarket refrigeration

Irish authorities are engaging extensively with European counterparts to investigate a series of cyberattacks targeting supermarkets across nine European Union countries, the Irish Examiner reported. Garda HQ and the National Cyber Security Centre are assisting the investigation in Ireland after a cyber incident disabled refrigeration systems in 13 SuperValu stores. [1]

The Irish Examiner reported that investigators are examining whether the attack was a test run for future ransom demands or if a hostile state was responsible. The incident affected a specific model of refrigerator across 13 of SuperValu's 223 stores. [1]

As FTMQ News reported earlier, supermarket chains in Sweden, Belgium, and Luxembourg recently experienced overnight freezer temperature rises in a suspected cyberattack. Six Coop stores in Sweden were among those affected, following a similar attack in France in October that raised freezer temperatures up to 50 degrees Celsius. [7]