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TL;DR
More than 115 supermarkets and other food businesses in at least six countries reportedly experienced refrigeration-system disruptions overnight on Nov. 1-2, 2026. The reported method resembles an October attack in France, but investigators have not identified the perpetrators or confirmed any role for AI.
More than 115 stores in at least six European countries reportedly suffered disruptions to refrigeration systems overnight on Nov. 1-2, after attackers remotely changed settings on controllers used by supermarkets and food businesses. The incidents, reported by broadcasters and cybersecurity outlets, resemble a wave in France in October; no evidence provided so far confirms AI was used, and the attackers have not been identified.
Reports place affected businesses in Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Luxembourg, Ireland and Estonia, with Finnish authorities and retailer Kesko also reporting temperature anomalies at a few smaller Finnish stores. The reported total varies by source and may change as businesses establish which sites were affected. In Belgium, installer Sabcobel chief executive Stephan Moelans told local media that technicians began disconnecting installations from about 1 a.m. He said the company itself was not hacked and that store controllers reachable over the internet were targeted directly.
Retailers and news outlets described freezers being heated or switched into defrost mode. A Proxy Delhaize store in Hoepertingen reported temperatures of 15°C instead of about minus 22°C and estimated that at least €60,000 worth of food had to be discarded, according to a regional newspaper cited by VRT NWS. A butcher in Hove reportedly threw away hundreds of kilos of food. In Sweden, ICA manager Rickard Nilsson told TV4, as quoted by The Record, that staff could not change the settings and that heat was blowing into freezers.
Companies gave differing counts and described limited impacts within their networks. Ahold Delhaize said it had identified an IT incident affecting refrigeration systems in several dozen stores. Carrefour Belgium said 15 of its 700 stores were affected, while Coop Sweden reported seven affected sites among more than 800. Some affected locations were independently run or operated outside their chains’ central networks. Belgium’s federal prosecutor has opened a criminal investigation.
Food Loss and Exposed Store Systems
The immediate risk is to food safety, inventory and business operations. When temperature controls fail, stores may need to discard stock, close units or bring in technicians. The reported €60,000 loss at one Belgian store illustrates the potential cost, but it is a site estimate, not a verified total for the incidents.
The distribution of affected sites also points to a difficult security problem: some were smaller or independently operated businesses using equipment outside a retailer’s central safeguards. That does not establish how every attack succeeded, but it suggests that protecting corporate networks alone may not cover all internet-connected building systems. Refrigeration controllers are operational technology: a change to their settings can have a physical effect even without a break-in at a store.
The episode has prompted attention to AI because the source article raises the possibility that AI could influence future attacks. At present, that is a broader concern, not a finding about this incident. Belgium’s cyber centre has warned of a general rise in attacks partly involving AI, but no source cited here says AI was used to locate controllers, gain access or alter temperatures in this wave.
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A Similar October Attack in France
The November incidents follow a reported attack in France on the night of Oct. 11-12, 2026. The Paris prosecutor’s office counted about 700 victims in that case, according to the source material. Belgian installer Sabcobel described the mechanism in the later incidents as “exactly the same” as in France, saying refrigeration units had been remotely switched into defrost mode. That comparison is an attributed assessment, not a publicly documented technical account of every affected system.
France’s national cybersecurity agency, CERT-FR, warned on Oct. 12 that remote-management interfaces for refrigeration controllers had been exposed online in ways it said were contrary to good practice. It also said attack campaigns were “probably still ongoing.” The source material says manufacturers had issued updates months earlier, but does not establish whether every affected business installed them or whether those updates would have prevented these incidents.
Reports on the November wave do not provide a single settled count. BleepingComputer put the total above 115 stores in six countries, while Belgian reports differed on the number affected within the country. Reported temperatures also varied, from 15°C in one Belgian store to 50°C in other locations. These figures describe different reports and sites; they should not be treated as a uniform temperature or a final tally.
““We have identified an IT incident affecting the refrigeration systems in several dozen stores.””
— Ahold Delhaize
Attribution and AI Remain Unconfirmed
No attacker has been identified, and the source material reports no claim of responsibility. Belgium’s cyber centre has warned that the perpetrator may never be identified. The Belgian federal prosecutor’s investigation is underway, but the available reports do not disclose a suspect, motive or complete technical findings.
It is also unknown whether AI played any role. General warnings about AI-related cyber activity do not establish its use in a specific attack. The public reporting summarized here does not identify the initial access route for each business, explain whether the same credentials or vulnerability were involved everywhere, or show whether the October and November campaigns were carried out by the same actor.
The final number of affected businesses and the full scale of losses remain unsettled. Sources report different totals, and businesses may still be checking systems and discarded stock. It is also unclear which controller models were involved at each site and whether software updates had been applied.
Investigators and Retailers Check Systems
Belgian investigators are expected to continue examining the incidents, while affected retailers and operators assess damage, restore refrigeration and review remote access to their equipment. The source material does not give a timetable for findings or announce a coordinated, cross-border investigation.
For readers, the next useful developments will be verified incident totals, technical findings and confirmed financial or food losses. Any account of AI involvement would need evidence specific to these attacks, rather than broader statements about AI and cybercrime. Until investigators or affected companies provide that evidence, the cause, perpetrators and any AI contribution remain open questions.
Key Questions
How many stores were affected?
Reports put the total at more than 115 stores in at least six countries, with Finnish authorities and Kesko also reporting problems at a few smaller stores. Counts differ across sources and are not yet a final tally.
Was AI used in the attacks?
That has not been confirmed. The source material notes general warnings about AI-related cyber activity, but no cited authority or company said AI was used in this refrigeration attack.
How were the refrigeration systems affected?
According to installer Sabcobel, controllers reachable over the internet were remotely changed, with units switched into defrost mode. Public reporting does not provide a complete technical explanation for every affected store.
Have the attackers been identified?
No. The source material reports no attribution and no claim of responsibility. Belgium’s federal prosecutor has opened a criminal investigation.
What losses have been reported?
A Proxy Delhaize store in Hoepertingen estimated that at least €60,000 of food had to be discarded. Other businesses also reported food losses, but a total across affected countries has not been established.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
