Supermarket freezers hacked in European countries: Could India’s smart refrigeration systems be next?

A cyberattack does not always have to steal personal data or lock a company out of its computers to cause disruption. In Europe, supermarket refrigeration systems have become the focus of a series of incidents in which attackers accessed cooling controls and raised temperatures, leaving retailers with food they could no longer sell.

The impact went beyond the digital world, as rising temperatures spoiled food and caused losses for retailers. Similar freezer failures at US military grocery stores are also being investigated as a possible cyberattack. Together, these incidents raise an important question about whether India's connected refrigeration systems could also be vulnerable to cyberattacks.

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What happened to supermarket refrigeration systems in Europe and the US?

Reuters reported that supermarket refrigeration systems in Sweden, Belgium, Luxembourg and Ireland were affected by suspected cyberattacks. At least one IKEA store in Belgium was also impacted. In Sweden, retailer ICA said a limited number of stores were affected, while Coop reported incidents at seven of its 800 outlets. Carrefour reported problems at 15 Belgian stores, Colruyt at five SPAR outlets and Ireland’s Musgrave at 13 SuperValu stores.

At an ICA franchise store in Stockholm, freezer temperatures reportedly reached 50 degrees Celsius. The incidents followed a separate attack in France in October, when hackers accessed cooling controls at hundreds of supermarkets, resulting in food losses and fires. Some affected European systems used temperature-control technology supplied by Danish company Danfoss, which said it was working with customers on fixes. Investigators have not established who was behind the latest incidents or whether they were connected to the French attack.

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In the US, the Pentagon is investigating freezer failures at at least six military commissaries in August as a suspected cyberattack. At Fort Huachuca in Arizona, freezers reportedly switched to defrost mode, causing food to spoil. The cause has not been established.

Could India’s connected cooling systems face similar risks?

There are no confirmed reports linking Indian supermarkets to comparable incidents. However, commercial refrigeration equipment that can be monitored or controlled remotely creates another point that businesses need to secure. If controllers, remote-access tools or the networks managing them are inadequately protected, unauthorised access could potentially disrupt cooling operations.

India’s Telecommunication Engineering Centre has published a Code of Practice for Securing Consumer Internet of Things (IoT). It recommends measures including secure communication, software updates and stronger access controls. Although it is not a refrigeration-specific standard, it highlights the need to protect connected devices.

The reported attacks involved commercial cooling controls, not household refrigerators. The concern is therefore not that every smart fridge is at risk, but that connected business infrastructure also needs to be treated as a cybersecurity priority.