By Basant El-Faramawy
Businesses in the UK food supply chain have been affected by a cyber-attack that targeted supermarket fridges and freezers across Europe on Monday, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has confirmed.
NCSC responds to UK incidents
NCSC chief executive Dr Richard Horne said the centre worked through the night to alert potentially affected organisations after identifying "a couple of instances where vulnerable technology had been exploited in the UK." Horne warned that the incident highlights an urgent need for organisations to secure and update the technology underpinning daily applications, noting many firms have extended systems beyond their end of life without upgrades or secure segmentation.
Meat suppliers report defrosting units
The British Association of Independent Meat Suppliers (AIMS) said some of its more than 300 members became "collateral" in the hacks. Two members saw fridges begin to defrost, while another recorded cold units rising to 100°C (212°F). AIMS spokesman Tony Goodger said the affected devices were empty at the time, so no produce was lost, but urged vigilance across the food industry.
Wider European impact and food waste
Supermarkets in Ireland, Sweden, Estonia, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Finland reported similar temperature hikes on Monday. Around 40 Delhaize stores in Belgium and Luxembourg were affected, with units switched to defrost mode. Retailers said they had to discard spoiled food worth hundreds of thousands of euros. A Delhaize manager in Belgium described the waste as "truly distressing" given global food insecurity.
Calls for investment in legacy systems
Horne said it was too early to attribute the attacks but pointed to "AI in the hands of our adversaries" accelerating vulnerability exploitation. He stressed that organisations must invest in renewal and secure compartmentalisation, adding that the NCSC can intervene only where possible.
UK supermarkets bolster defenses
Major UK retailers including Asda, Lidl, M&S, Sainsbury's and Tesco are working with the NCSC to secure refrigeration systems. NCSC director of operations Paul Chichester said the current UK impact is minimal and the centre is identifying and closing existing vulnerabilities before they can be exploited.
