UK organisations hit as cyber-attacks disrupt supermarket fridges across Europe

The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) says hackers have exploited vulnerable technology in a small number of British organisations, after cyber-attacks caused supermarket refrigerators to heat up across Europe.

NCSC chief executive Richard Horne told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the agency had alerted potentially affected organisations overnight. He said it was aware of “a couple of impacts” in the UK and had contacted “handfuls” of bodies.

Supermarkets in Ireland, Sweden, Estonia and Belgium reported fridge temperature problems on Monday. Earlier attacks on supermarkets and food suppliers in France spoiled fresh and frozen food worth an estimated millions of euros, the BBC reported.

The attacks exploited vulnerabilities in systems used to control refrigeration remotely. Horne said it was too early to identify who was responsible. He urged organisations to update and replace ageing technology, warning that systems left unpatched or connected to the internet could be easier to exploit.

He also said artificial intelligence in the hands of attackers could help them find and exploit vulnerabilities more quickly. The NCSC’s account does not specify which UK organisations were affected or the extent of the impacts.