13 SuperValu stores hit by suspected cyber attack

Refrigeration systems at 13 SuperValu stores across Ireland have been affected by a suspected cyber attack, resulting in fresh produce having to be thrown away.

Musgrave, which owns SuperValu, confirmed in a statement that the cyber incident is limited to a specific model of refrigeration.

It said its monitoring systems alerted them to the issue and immediate action was taken.

As a precaution, chilled and frozen products in the affected stores have been removed from sale, and all other products remain available as normal.

It said customer safety is its first priority, and that customers could be confident that products on sale in its stores had been stored at safe temperatures.

It said its investigations were ongoing.

A number of stores, including the SuperValu in Bray Co Wicklow, did not open on time today as planned while staff dealt with the issue.

Among the other stores affected were; SuperValu in Lucan, Blanchardstown and Ranelagh in Dublin, and one store in Waterford.

SuperValu said it is working with cybersecurity specialists to resolve the issue and restore normal operations as quickly as possible.

Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan has been briefed on the situation and the National Cyber Security Centre is closely monitoring it.

Meanwhile, dozens of Belgian grocery stores and an Ikea superstore also confirmed they had been hit by a refrigerator cyber attack.

A handful of Swedish supermarkets also saw temperatures in their refrigerators and freezers soar today, Swedish chains Ica and Coop said without giving a cause.

Carrefour Belgium reported disruption in about 15 of its 700 stores in Belgium. "It's a cyber attack, there is no other reason," said Mich Vergauwen, a spokesman for Carrefour Belgium.

An Ikea Belgium spokeswoman likewise said a cyber attack hit its store in Mons, southwestern Belgium, causing the temperature of freezers to rise suddenly in the early hours of Monday.

It is the only Ikea store affected because it uses a different service provider than others in Belgium, the spokeswoman added, without identifying the provider.

The Colruyt and Intermarche supermarket chains likewise said they had been hit by technical problems affecting fridges in five and around 15 stores respectively, without confirming if a cyberattack was suspected.

"In some cases, it involved only a single refrigerator, so the impact was quite limited," an Intermarche spokesman said, adding that the incidents took place overnight Sunday into Monday.

European supermarket chain - Ahold Delhaize - also said that an "IT incident" hit fridges and freezers in dozens ‌of ⁠its supermarkets in Belgium and Luxembourg today.

The ⁠retailer last month reported ⁠a cybersecurity incident to Dutch police.

Last month, major French supermarket chains said they were hit by a cyber attack that caused their refrigerators to shoot up in temperature in hundreds of stores.

Targeting supermarkets 'very telling'

A spokesperson for EU Agriculture and Food Commissioner Christophe Hanson said that the Commissioner has said multiple times that food security is an integral part of security.

"The empty shelves in the supermarkets targeted are very telling in that regard. We are aware of these incidents," the spokesperson added.

"These incidents show that cyber attacks can disrupt services, affect businesses and directly affect citizens' daily lives. The EU has several tools in place to respond to such incidents."

The spokesperson said: "The Commission will continue to work with member states to strengthen cyber security across the union, including under the Cyber Resilience Act, the Cyber Solidarity Act and NIS2."