Μake us preferred on Google Greece’s National Cybersecurity Authority warned supermarkets to secure their refrigeration systems after a wave of cyberattacks hit more than 100 stores in five European countries, urging immediate protective measures.
The cyberattacks began at a supermarket in France on the night of Oct. 11–12, followed by a second wave on the night of Nov. 1–2 targeting stores in Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden, Ireland and Estonia, the authority said.
Danish manufacturer Danfoss, whose refrigeration controllers were also targeted in France, confirmed the latest incidents involved its products. The company had asked customers in mid-October to disconnect their systems from the internet.
In a letter to the Hellenic Supermarket Association, the authority said it had identified more than 300 exposed systems in Greece, mainly commercial refrigeration controllers made by Danfoss, Copeland/Dixell and Carel. It said the root of the problem lay in internet-accessible control systems running outdated software with inadequate protection.
The authority called on supermarkets to disconnect refrigeration controls from the public internet and allow remote access only through secure VPN connections with multi-factor authentication. It also urged them to change default passwords, install security updates, replace equipment no longer supported by manufacturers and require contractors to apply the same measures.
Association president Giannis Masoutis told Greek business daily OT that no attacks had been detected at the country’s major supermarket chains, adding that the sector remained on alert and was monitoring its systems.
