German supermarkets have begun disposing of large quantities of spoiled food following cyberattacks on their refrigeration equipment. Unknown perpetrators gained remote access to the cooling systems and altered their settings, effectively turning freezers into ovens, reports the German newspaper Bild.
Cover image © Shutterstock / FOTODOM / Nicoleta Ionescu
One of the most serious incidents occurred in the town of Reisbach, in Lower Bavaria. At a local Edeka supermarket, the temperature inside freezers—which should have been maintaining deep-freeze conditions—suddenly spiked to +50°C (122°F). As a result, large batches of chilled and frozen goods were rendered unusable.
Similar incidents have been recorded in North Rhine-Westphalia and Bremen. According to preliminary findings, the attackers remotely interfered with the refrigeration units, triggering a defrost cycle. Store staff only discovered the issue after the temperature settings had already been compromised.
It is believed that outdated equipment control systems served as the weak point. Some of these systems no longer receive security updates from their manufacturers, leaving the devices vulnerable to hacking.
German cybercrime investigators have stepped in to look into the circumstances. The total number of affected stores and the financial cost to the retail chains from the loss of spoiled products remain unknown at this time.
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