Russia could be behind a spate of cyber attacks on supermarket fridges across Europe, security experts have warned, and there are fears that the UK could be targeted next.
In the latest attack which emerged on Monday, hackers gained remote access to cold storage units in dozens of supermarkets in Belgium, Sweden, Ireland, Luxembourg and Estonia, causing tens of thousands of pounds worth of food to be spoiled.
It came weeks after fridges in grocery stores across France were also targeted.
While it is understood no British supermarkets have so far been affected, a security source said there was no reason to suggest the UK would be exempt from being targeted.
And leading cyber experts said the absence of a ransomware element – where hackers demand money in exchange for returning systems to normal – pointed to the possible role of a hostile state like Russia as part of its wider programme of grey zone sabotage.
During the latest hack, temperatures in fridges and freezers, which are linked up to the internet to be controlled more efficiently at scale, were ramped up to 55C.
The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre, which is part of the GCHQ spy agency, said it was working with international partners and industry leaders to investigate the attacks.
The NCSC declined to comment on who was responsible. But cyber security experts said there could be a link to a hostile state.
Ciaran Martin, former chief executive of the NCSC, told The i Paper: “It’s a long time since there’s been a cyber attack that has been so baffling in terms of who is behind it. Technically it’s pretty basic hacking though the scale of it is unusually large.
“The culprits aren’t cyber criminals as no one is making money. It’s unlikely to be teenage hackers in their parents’ house as they want publicity. That leaves nation states.
“They often hack because they want to achieve a particular outcome or send a signal. But what is the objective here? What’s the signal?”
Tom Hegel, distinguished threat researcher and research lead at cyber security firm SentinelOne, said: “These types of attacks typically fall into three main categories: ransomware extortion, political/ideological hacktivism, or nation-state level cyber operations.
“Ransomware groups usually try to get paid, and hacktivists usually want the public credit. In this case, neither has happened which makes it start to look like the low-cost, deniable sabotage Europe has been dealing with for several years, from damaged undersea cables to warehouse arson and GPS jamming.”
Russia has long been suspected of tampering with critical undersea telecommunications cables and energy infrastructure and the other types of grey warfare referenced by Hegel.
He added: “We saw a similar pattern at US military commissaries in August, when freezers on several bases failed within a day of each other and military investigators opened cases. We can’t say the two incidents are linked.
“What they share is the target: refrigeration controllers that sit on the internet, often running old firmware with publicly known security vulnerabilities.”
Hegel described retail as “an easy target” because of the sheer numbers of refrigerators, and how much of it is installed by contractors who “rarely loop in with the security team”.
“Grocery margins are thin and stock perishes within hours, so any disruption hurts quickly and in public,” Hegel added.
“The gap between a nuisance and a serious incident often comes down to how much control a victim has exposed to the internet. With thousands of these interfaces still online, I expect more incidents like this.”
The Danish engineering firm Danfoss, which supplies fridges to supermarkets targeted in both the French hacks last month and the latest attack in Sweden, is also a supplier to Tesco and Sainsbury’s in the UK, although no British stores have been affected so far.
A security insider said of the risk to the UK: “It entirely depends on what systems our supermarkets are using and how up to date they are.
“There’s no obvious strategic reason why the UK should be exempted from targeting here.”
An NCSC spokesperson said: “The NCSC is working with its international partners and industry to fully understand details of an incident.”
The NCSC is urging retailers to follow its guidance on operational technology – or cyber – security and is working closely with the sector, including sharing threat intelligence and identifying any vulnerabilities.
The agency has also recently held meetings with senior representatives from the food retail sector to highlight how they can better protect their computer systems and stock.
The heightened threat to supermarket food comes just days after the British government issued new advice to households to stockpile enough bottled water, tinned food and other essential supplies for three days in case of emergency including cyber attacks that cause widespread damage and disruption.
The British Retail Consortium said it was liaising with supermarkets about the latest hacks across Europe.
Graham Wynn of the BRC told the Telegraph: “Retailers invest heavily in their cyber security and are currently working with the National Cyber Security Centre to ensure their fridges and freezers are secure as possible against potential attacks.”
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