Pro-Russian hackers claim attack on supermarket refrigerators: “Systemic negligence”

As predicted, the large-scale cyberattack on European supermarket refrigeration systems is taking on geopolitical implications. Two pro-Russian hacker groups have claimed responsibility for the sabotage that affected Delhaize, Carrefour, and Edeka, among others. However, that does not necessarily mean they are actually the perpetrators.

Refrigerators as cyberweapons

Following strong suspicions raised by cybersecurity experts, the hacker groups NoName057(16) and Z-Pentest are now claiming responsibility for the cyberattacks that disrupted refrigeration systems in a dozen European countries on Monday. They published their claim of responsibility on Telegram, along with what they say are 2,500 lines of data from a database belonging to the Danish refrigeration technology supplier Danfoss, including login credentials and passwords.

The groups explicitly place the blame on the affected companies. “The problem lies not with ‘malicious hackers,’ but with the systemic negligence of European and American operators who have ignored fundamental cybersecurity requirements for years,” states Z-Pentest.

However, other cybersecurity experts are questioning the claim. The Telegram channels have since disappeared, and there is no independent evidence of either group’s involvement. NoName057(16) is best known for DDoS attacks, in which hackers overload websites. The collective has previously targeted Belgian government agencies and media outlets.

Warnings ignored?

The attackers remotely manipulated the settings of the refrigeration systems and switched evaporators to defrost mode. As a result, temperatures in refrigeration and freezer units rose in several European countries, sometimes reaching 50 degrees Celsius. This forced supermarkets to remove large quantities of fresh and frozen products from sale or destroy them.

It is noteworthy that the Belgian Center for Cybersecurity had already warned on October 13 about vulnerabilities in such systems, following earlier attacks on French supermarkets. Nevertheless, hackers were able to strike again in early November. In France, cybercriminals even attempted to disrupt the cooling systems of blood banks, though staff there were able to intervene in time. The European Commission has since convened a crisis meeting with, among others, the cybersecurity agency ENISA and the police agency Europol.