A suspected second wave of cyberattacks has disrupted supermarket refrigeration across Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg and Sweden, raising temperatures and spoiling food at dozens of stores.

Reportedly affected sites include about 40 Delhaize stores in Belgium and Luxembourg, 13 SuperValu shops in Ireland, and several ICA and Coop stores in Sweden, as well as Carrefour and Spar locations in Belgium and stores in the Netherlands, Estonia and Finland.

A Delhaize store in Hoeilaart said it had to discard €100,000 worth of food, while managers described losing control of the equipment and receiving alarms overnight.

The attackers have not been identified, and stores are disposing of spoiled products to ensure they do not reach shoppers.

The incidents follow attacks earlier in October that affected around 400 French supermarkets, including E. Leclerc, Intermarché and Cooperative U stores, after attackers targeted refrigeration controls reportedly made by Danish company Danfoss.

French stores discarded thousands of pounds of food, and prosecutors in Paris said equipment at some locations overheated and caught fire; no person or group has claimed responsibility.

Cybersecurity expert Patrick Lamplmair said the attacks appear to exploit known flaws in refrigeration controllers, warning that attackers can destroy stock simply by changing temperatures, without stealing data or demanding a ransom.

Weak authentication and software flaws may have left remote refrigeration-management systems exposed, while some older units in France reportedly could not receive security updates addressing known risks.

Because supermarkets connect cooling systems to the internet for remote maintenance and alerts, the incidents underscore how cyber weaknesses in everyday equipment can threaten food supplies.

Experts say stronger cybersecurity and regular software updates might have helped prevent the attacks, and Lamplmair said freezers should reject unsafe heating commands.

The U.S. military is investigating similar refrigeration problems at six bases, including a suspected coordinated attack on commissaries in late August, though it has not established a link to the European incidents.

U.S. Department of Defense officials are reportedly examining whether Iran-backed hackers targeted freezer units on military bases; Iranian hackers were also blamed for attacks on U.S. water providers earlier in 2026.