Suspected Cyberattack Hits Supermarket Freezers in Four Countries

Around 40 Delhaize supermarkets in Belgium and Luxembourg were affected by a suspected cyberattack, according to company statements and local reports. The incident also hit 13 SuperValu shops in Ireland and seven Coop stores in Sweden, while local reports said millions of euros’ worth of food had been thrown away.

The report said dozens of supermarkets in Belgium and Sweden had been affected, including several ICA and Coop shops in Sweden. Belgium’s and Sweden’s national cyber-security agencies said they were monitoring the incident.

Which stores did the incident reach?

Company disclosures and local reporting showed a footprint across four countries and five named chains:

• Delhaize: around 40 supermarkets in Belgium and Luxembourg.
• Carrefour: 15 Belgian stores.
• ICA: several Swedish stores outside the chain’s central network.
• Coop: seven of 800 stores in Sweden.
• SuperValu: 13 shops in Ireland.

The disclosed counts covered four countries and five chains, and no named chain reported more than 40 affected stores.

Delhaize, described in the report as one of Belgium’s biggest supermarket chains, told Belgian media that a "computer incident" had occurred overnight at 40 shops. A branch in Hoeilaart, in Flemish Brabant province in Flanders, told Het Laatste Nieuws it had lost €100,000 worth of produce.

The manager said the €100,000 estimate did not include further losses that would result from closing the shop. The disclosed figure covered produce only and excluded closure-related losses.

What happened to refrigeration and store operations?

Carrefour, a French-owned supermarket, said the incident had affected only 15 of its Belgian stores. It said measures had been taken immediately to ensure all shops remained open.

An ICA spokesperson confirmed that the incident had affected a "small number of ICA stores operating outside ICA's central network." "ICA is currently supporting the affected stores in managing the situation," the spokesperson said.

A branch in Sjöbo, in southern Sweden, wrote on social media: "Our refrigerators and freezers have been hacked overnight and they have set the temperature to 50 degrees." Earlier local media reporting described the freezer setting as 50 C, or 122F.

The Sjöbo store closed earlier but had reopened to customers by the time of the report. The report showed an employee at a branch in Odengatan in Stockholm throwing away bags of spoiled food.

Coop told the BBC that seven of its 800 Swedish stores were affected, while the "situation is currently contained and under control." The reported operating effects were spoiled inventory and temporary closures, with the Sjöbo branch reopened and Carrefour’s Belgian shops still open.

How much was lost?

Local media reports put the value of discarded food at millions of euros. Het Laatste Nieuws separately reported €100,000 in produce lost at one Delhaize branch.

The chain statements focused on operational effects rather than a combined loss total. ICA said it was supporting affected stores; Carrefour said all of its Belgian shops stayed open; and Coop called its Swedish situation contained and under control.

The disclosed financial picture combines one itemized branch loss with a broader, media-estimated waste bill, while closure costs at Hoeilaart sat outside the €100,000.

Who is investigating the attack?

It was not clear who was behind the attack, according to the report. The suspected cyberattack followed a similar incident in the previous month that affected hundreds of French supermarkets.

Belgium’s and Sweden’s national cyber-security agencies said they were monitoring the incident. The public update centered on monitoring by the two agencies, with no attacker named.