BRUSSELS — Hackers raised the temperatures of refrigeration systems at supermarkets in Germany, Romania and the United Kingdom during Monday's cyberattacks, officials said, bringing the number of European countries affected in the hacking spree to at least 11 — and prompting the European Union to promise a collective response, warning the attacks were 'not isolated' and had spoiled tonnes of food across the continent.

Source: Associated Press via BytesEU, Nov 4, 2026

Problems were first reported on Monday in at least nine EU countries — Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden. On Tuesday, officials and company representatives said four supermarkets in Germany and six outlets in Romania had also been affected. The UK, which is not an EU member, was also hit: hackers tried to target small meat-processing firms, but the impact was minimal, said Richard Horne, chief executive of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).

This is a major expansion of the wave Awaaz Punjab reported on Monday, when fridges and freezers overheated at chains in Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden and Estonia — itself a repeat of October's attack on about 700 French supermarkets. Read the earlier report: second fridge cyberattack hits Belgium, Sweden chains

EU promises a collective response

Thomas Regnier, a spokesperson for the European Union, said the bloc's agencies were talking with national authorities to develop a joint response. 'These are not isolated incidents, and of course, we have to be collectively resilient and prepared for such cyber incidents,' he said. EU coordination meetings on November 3 involved the EU Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA), Europol and national cyber-crisis authorities, as officials compared incident patterns across borders; investigations remain with national authorities.

Source: Journalarta / AFP reporting, Nov 4, 2026

The motive for the cyberattacks is unknown, and no one has claimed responsibility. Dan Cimpean, director of Romania's National Cyber Security Directorate, told the AFP news agency the incidents in his country appeared relatively unsophisticated: 'We do not suspect, under any circumstances, that it is a state actor.' No perpetrator has been publicly identified, and authorities have presented no evidence attributing the attacks to any government or group.

In Sweden, the supermarket chain Coop said refrigerators and freezers affected overnight at seven of its stores had been connected to 'old 4G networks', and the stores have since resumed normal operations; a Coop spokesperson said the company had accelerated a network upgrade, begun after the October attacks, that moves connected refrigeration equipment to 5G networks and modern modems. Danish refrigeration-controls maker Danfoss said its systems were again among those targeted. Retailers were forced to withdraw or discard food that could no longer be guaranteed safe.