A suspected second wave of cyberattacks has hit supermarket refrigeration systems across Europe, forcing stores to throw out spoiled food after fridges and freezers were remotely switched into continuous defrost overnight into Monday 2 November, following a similar attack on French supermarkets last month. No group has claimed responsibility.

In Belgium, about 40 Delhaize, 15 Carrefour, about ten Intermarché and about five Spar stores were affected. Stores in Luxembourg and Sweden were also hit, and later reports put the affected countries at seven. Ahold Delhaize, Delhaize’s parent company, described an IT incident affecting refrigeration in a number of its shops in Belgium and Luxembourg and said it was investigating.

How the refrigeration was manipulated

The clearest technical account comes from Belgium, where Stephan Moelans, who runs Sabcobel, the refrigeration firm that operates Delhaize’s systems, told the Belga news agency that hackers switched the units’ evaporators into defrost mode. His company estimated at least twenty units were affected and began disconnecting installations from 1am. Reports differ on peak temperatures reached, with some units reported at around 15 degrees and others as high as 50 degrees, so the exact range across all stores remains unconfirmed.

An unpatched equipment problem

Security researchers have linked the attacks to internet-connected refrigeration controls made by Danish company Danfoss, which they say were no longer receiving security updates. A Danfoss spokesperson confirmed the incidents across Europe involved its products, as in France in October. Sweden’s national cybersecurity centre said it was responding to multiple incidents involving store cooling systems. Ahold Delhaize calls the events an IT incident, while Sabcobel’s chief executive has described the Belgian events as a cyberattack; no authority has yet named a suspect or an entry point.

Sources: TechCrunch, 2 November 2026; Bloomberg via Insurance Journal, 2 November 2026; SOCRadar; Belgian reports via RetailDetail.