'Unprecedented' Cyberattack cripples supermarket fridges across Europe as hackers activate automatic defrosting — delivery and store prices also impacted by incident
The gist
Hackers remotely triggered defrosting in supermarket fridges across France, Belgium and the Netherlands.
The attack hit food supply chains, forcing stores to discard fresh and frozen stock.
How it unfolded
- Oct 11, 2026Several Dutch supermarket chains including Albert Heijn, Etos and Gall & Gall had websites taken down, disrupting deliveries, and electronic shelf labels were compromised, disrupting in-store pricing.
- Oct 11, 2026A cyberattack began affecting refrigeration production facilities of several stores in Coopérative U's network on Sunday night.
- Oct 12, 2026Coopérative U president Dominique Schelcher confirmed the attack; Intermarché, Coopérative U, E.Leclerc and others confirmed an "unprecedented" cyberattack. Early reports indicated losses approaching 300,000 euros, potentially running into several million euros nationwide.