European grocery chains’ freezers, refrigerators targeted in apparent cyberattacks
Empty refrigerated shelves following a refrigeration outage at a Proxy Delhaize store in Maleizen, Overijse, Belgium, on Monday, Nov. 2, 2026. Supermarkets across Europe were hit by suspected cyberattacks that resulted in sudden changes in the temperatures of their fridges and freezers on Monday, echoing a more widespread problem in France last month. (Wiktor Dabkowski/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Grocery stores in several European countries are dealing with incidents affecting refrigerator and freezer systems that appear to be the results of cyberattacks.
Refrigeration systems have been malfunctioning Monday in Belgium, Sweden, Ireland, The Netherlands and Estonia, officials from affected companies told ABC News and local public broadcasters.
In each of the incidents, the reported cyberattacks altered the settings and functioning of refrigerator and freezer units, resulting in food spoilage.
The targets appear to have been smaller stores and have affected only a limited number of each chain’s retail locations, according to statements obtained by ABC News.
Swedish grocery store chains ICA and Coop confirmed to ABC News that some of its stores had been affected, with ICA saying there was an “incident overnight affecting a small number of ICA stores operating outside ICA’s central network,” and Coop saying the incident affected “seven out of more than 800 stores.”
The situation was “contained and under control,” according to a Coop spokesperson.
Coop added that the incident occurred ahead of a planned system upgrade, which had been in the works because of a similar issue affecting French grocery stores last month, in which hundreds of stores saw the fridges and freezers similarly hacked and temperatures set to 50 degrees Celsius, or 122 degrees Fahrenheit. Most of the systems targeted then were reportedly using outdated software.
One ICA grocery store in Sjöbo, Sweden, posted to social media that “overnight, our refrigerators and freezers were hacked, and the temperature was set to 50 degrees.”
Belgian supermarket chains Delhaize and Carrefour were also affected, representatives for the companies told ABC News, with Delhaize referring to it as an “IT incident.”
“[T]he impact at Carrefour is very limited: currently 15 of our 700 stores are affected,” a spokesperson told ABC News, adding “all stores remain open because it only concerns a few refrigeration units, mainly freezers.”
Musgrave, the company that owns Irish grocery chain SuperValu, told Irish broadcaster RTÉ that 13 stores had been affected by a suspected cyberattack that affected a specific refrigeration model.
Dutch refrigeration company Danfoss told public broadcaster NOS that seventeen facilities using its refrigeration systems, such as frozen product storage and butcher shops, were affected by a cyberattack of the kind that hit French stores last month. Danfoss systems were affected at the time in France as well.
Several military bases in the U.S. experienced similar cyberattacks in August, according to Reuters, which said at least six commissaries — on-base grocery stores — had been affected in ways similar to the recent European attacks, including the October incidents in France. The Pentagon is investigating the incidents, according to Reuters.
Atop the Acropolis ancient hill with Parthenon temple during a heat wave on July 20, 2023 in Athens, Greece. (Photo by Milos Bicanski/Getty Images)
(ATHENS, Greece) — Two Greek-American tourists were rushed to the hospital Tuesday morning after they were stabbed outside the Acropolis in Athens, Greece.
The incident occurred at approximately 8:05 a.m., just after the Acropolis Museum’s opening, police said.
Prior to the incident, an individual brandishing a knife outside the museum’s entrance was threatening pedestrians, prompting a bystander to place an emergency call to authorities, according to eyewitnesses and authorities.
Before law enforcement arrived, the assailant stabbed a couple, a 53-year-old man and a 48-year-old woman. The male victim suffered severe blood loss, police said.
The male victim’s injuries required urgent care due to blood loss, but both victims are reported to be in stable condition. The female victim suffered minor injuries to her hands and legs.
Police have taken a 60-year-old suspect into custody.
The rapid-response unit within the Hellenic Police and the Athens Police Directorate immobilized and disarmed the suspect, detaining the individual on the scene.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov exits the Great Hall of the People on May 20, 2026, in Beijing, China. (Maxim Shemetov – China Pool/Getty Images)
The Kremlin on Monday said it welcomed President Donald Trump’s offer to provide assistance to Russia amid mounting global concern around the death of a lab worker from an anti-plague institute in Siberia, but gave no more details about the case.
“It is always very good when mutual assistance is offered,” presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov told journalists.
Peskov appeared to downplay Trump’s suggestion the issue was a “major problem for Russia,” telling a journalist he had not heard that framing.
“To be honest, I did not hear the president’s words that he considers this a major problem for Russia. As far as I remember it was not said that way, although I may be mistaken,” Peskov responded.
He declined to give any further details on the suspected pneumonic plague case, saying all information should come from Russia’s consumer health agency, Rospotrebnadzor.
Meanwhile, Elena Sofyina, Deputy Mayor of the Shelekhov for Social Sector Management, commented on Donald Trump’s statement about his readiness to provide assistance.
“Information has emerged that Donald Trump is ready to help us deal with the pneumonia situation in the district. I believe it’s necessary to respond directly. We can handle it ourselves,” Sofyina said.
“The situation is under full control. Rospotrebnadzor, the regional team, and the administration of the Shelekhovsky District are working together. The dangerous diagnosis has not been confirmed, but we are still following all the protocol measures,” Sofyina added.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, asked in Iceland by ABC News whether he had reason to believe there has been an accidental release of an intentionally modified strain of the plague, said it would “irresponsible for me here to sit and speculate because we just don’t have all the information yet.”
“I think it’s incumbent upon Russia to obviously share more information with the world. That’s what they should do,” the secretary said.
Rubio said his department was tracking the situation “hour by hour.”
“Suffice it to say, we’re watching it very closely, and I think the whole world is watching it very closely because, depending on what we learn about it, we would know how to respond,” Rubio said.
“We encourage Russia to be transparent and share more information with the world, so that all of us could react accordingly and appropriately. But we’ll have to make those decisions on the basis of the information that we’re learning and are being provided. And so far, that’s still quite limited. But hopefully, that will change in the next few hours and days,” he added.
A State Department official on Tuesday confirmed the U.S. has made contact with the Russian government over a suspected plague death in Siberia.
“We have been in contact with the Russian government, including our health experts at the State Department with the Foreign Ministry as early as last Friday,” the official said.
Health authorities in the Siberia region of Irkutsk last week launched “anti-epidemic” measures after a lab worker from an anti-plague institute died in hospital. Local Russian media have named the worker as 28-year-old Daria Shipilova, who studied plague at the Anti-Plague Research Institute in the town of Shelekhov, just outside Irkutsk, which is about 2,600 miles from Moscow.
Russian authorities have said only that that the case of the lab worker’s death was “pneumonia of an unknown cause,” with the health agency Rospotrebnadzor saying tests showed no link with her work.
But on Tuesday, Rospotrebnadzor’s office for the Irkutsk region issued a statement, saying “A false message is being circulated online about the introduction of an enhanced sanitary and epidemiological regime and strict restrictions in the Irkutsk region.”
“We inform you that the said document and information are not related to official sources and are unreliable,” the statement said.
“The sanitary and epidemiological situation in the Irkutsk region and the cities of Irkutsk and Shelekhov is stable. A set of preventive measures and medical monitoring of contacts is nearing completion. Laboratory tests identified two cases of COVID-19 and two cases of rhinovirus infection. No other infectious disease pathogens were detected among the contacts,” the statement further said.
The statement came after some Russian media and public figures reported a death potentially due to plague and linked to a lab worker. Russian officials did not provide further details about the worker. The Russian agency’s statement said that “no accidents have been detected at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute while working with pathogenic microorganisms.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a statement Sunday that it is “monitoring the situation closely” with the State Department, adding “the safety and security of U.S. citizens is our highest priority.”
“Many details have not been confirmed. We encourage Russian authorities to share accurate information quickly and openly,” a State Department spokesperson said in a statement. “Plague is a known disease and is treatable with common antibiotics, especially when treatment starts early. Cases occur naturally in many parts of the world.”
On Tuesday, the CDC said in a statement, in part, that “at this time, there is no indication of a broader threat to the United States, but CDC and our interagency partners are prepared and will continue to monitor the situation closely.”
Plague is a disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, according to the CDC. There are three types of plague: bubonic, pneumonic and septicemic. Symptoms often include fever, chills and weakness. Plague can be treated with antibiotics. The earlier antibiotics are received, the higher the chances of a full recovery.
The U.S. averages about seven cases of plague each year, mostly in Western states, according to the CDC, which notes it has been more than a century since the U.S. has seen a documented case of person-to-person spread of plague.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on the sidelines of the G7 summit on June 16, 2026 in Evian-les-Bains, France. (Photo by Isabel Infantes – Pool/Getty Images)
(LONDON) — Ukraine struck a satellite communications center in the Moscow region in an aerial attack on Tuesday, Kyiv said, as Moscow claimed to have shot down hundreds of drones launched into its territory overnight.
Ukrainian President Volodymry Zelenskyy said Ukraine struck the site, the “Dubna” space communications center, for the second time.
“This is a specialized satellite communications facility used, among other things, for intelligence gathering and coordinating the activities of Russia’s occupying forces in Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said on social media on Tuesday.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense said in a morning update on its official Russian-language Telegram channel that air defense systems had intercepted and destroyed at least 419 Ukrainian drones since late Monday evening.
Those drones were shot down in at least 16 regions, including Moscow, along with Russian-occupied areas in Crimea, the ministry said.
Sergey Sobyanin, the mayor of Moscow, said early on Tuesday that at least 61 Ukrainian drones had been shot down in the capital region overnight.
Zelenskyy in announcing the Ukrainian strike on the satellite communications center noted that the facility was more than 500 km, or about 310 miles, from the Ukrainian-Russian boarder.
“Recently, our Defense Forces of Ukraine already reached four such Russian centers, not only in the Moscow region but also in the Vladimir region,” he said on social media.
He added, “Step by step, we are implementing our plan of long-range sanctions and making it as difficult as possible for the aggressor state to carry out its invasion operations against Ukraine and the occupation of our territories.”
