More grocery stores in Europe report fridge and freezer temperature spikes as apparent cyberattacks continue

November 2, 2026 / 7:45 AM EST / CBS/AFP

Grocery store chains in at least three European countries reported unexpected temperature spikes Monday in refrigerators and freezers that ruined food — the second time in less than a month that similar incidents have raised concerns about cyberattacks on increasingly interlinked infrastructure.

Netherlands-based food retailer Ahold Delhaize and Colruyt in Belgium both said an IT incident overnight had sent temperatures inside fridges and freezers in dozens of their stores in Belgium and Luxembourg soaring, while Swedish chains ICA and Coop reported similar spikes, with one outlet explicitly blaming a cyberattack, according to the Reuters news agency.

The incidents come less than three weeks after several French supermarket chains said they were hit by a cyberattack that sent refrigerator temperatures surging as high as 122 degrees Fahrenheit in hundreds of outlets.

French chains E. Leclerc, Intermarché and Cooperative U told the AFP news agency last month that they had suffered a cyberattack.

On Monday, Reuters said Ahold, the Dutch grocery store chain, had reported a cybersecurity incident to police in the Netherlands in October after detecting suspicious activity in its infrastructure. The chain realized there were temperature increases in the cooling systems…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/world/