A wave of suspected cyberattacks targeting supermarket chains across Europe has also affected Italy, where at least four Coop stores experienced disruptions to their refrigeration systems.
The attacks, which have reportedly affected around 100 supermarkets in Sweden, Belgium, Luxembourg, Estonia and Ireland, are now being investigated in Italy after three Coop outlets in Catania and one in Palermo were hit.
The incident caused temperatures in refrigeration systems to rise, forcing employees to discard food products that had become too warm to remain safe for consumption.
Giuseppe Spadaro, general manager of the Radenza Group, which operates the Coop supermarkets, initially confirmed the incident to the Italian news agency ANSA.
“We have established that this was an attack on our remote-control system for frozen-food display counters. Following careful checks, there appear to be no other damages, but the attack did take place,” said Danilo Radenza, chief executive of Coop Radenza.
Italian authorities investigate possible links to European attacks
According to Spadaro, Italy’s Postal Police are investigating the origin and scope of the attacks and examining whether the incident is connected to similar cases reported in other European countries.
“We are calculating the damage. In some cases, we have already resolved the problem. We have contacted the National Cybersecurity Agency and activated protocols for an in-depth investigation,” Spadaro said.
Italy’s National Cybersecurity Agency (ACN) also reported receiving notifications of an incident involving a company in Tuscany’s collective catering sector. It said it had identified a separate attack targeting a frozen-food producer in the Emilia-Romagna region.
The agency has urged companies in the food distribution sector to urgently check whether their remote-control and remote-support systems are exposed to the internet.
It has also recommended strengthening remote access through virtual private networks (VPNs) and multi-factor authentication, reviewing accounts with elevated privileges, and updating or replacing devices that are no longer supported by their manufacturers.
Meeting planned with major retailers
The ACN is scheduled to meet on Thursday with industry associations and major national retail companies to discuss the incidents and possible protective measures.
Meanwhile, the Postal Police are continuing to investigate potential links between the attacks in Italy and those reported elsewhere in Europe.
The incidents have raised concerns about the cybersecurity of systems used to remotely manage refrigeration equipment and other critical operations in the food retail sector.
