UK food companies have been affected by a significant cyberattack that impacted supermarket freezers across Europe, according to a senior official from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).
Dr. Richard Horne, head of the NCSC, stated that "vulnerable technology" within the UK was exploited in the hack, which has targeted at least seven European countries. The attackers reportedly raised temperatures in freezers to as high as 55C (131F), leading to the spoilage of tonnes of meat and other produce.
While the full extent of the impact on the UK is still being assessed, Dr. Horne confirmed that a "handful" of organizations have been alerted and a couple of instances of impact are known. Security sources indicated that only a small number of UK companies were affected, but the cyberattack follows a similar method used in a previous incident in France where thousands of grocery stores had their cooling units compromised. Sabcobel, a Belgian firm, manufactured some of the affected refrigeration units, while the French hacks involved units supplied by Danfoss, a company that also works with major British supermarkets like Tesco and Sainsbury's.
The incident has caused significant disruption, with some businesses forced to throw away large quantities of spoiled food. Tony Goodger of the Association of Independent Meat Suppliers noted that some of his members had become "collateral" during the widespread attack.
Dr. Horne described the incident as a "sliding doors" moment for cybersecurity, warning that the UK faces an unprecedented rise in cyber incidents in the coming months. He explained that this is not due to new attack methods developed by AI, but rather the exploitation of long-tolerated vulnerabilities at a scale previously unimaginable. The NCSC's annual report highlighted that the UK could face AI-boosted attacks on critical national infrastructure within the next two years, with hostile states like Russia and China likely to use AI routinely for their objectives by 2028.
This warning comes amidst broader concerns about national resilience. The UK government recently launched a campaign urging citizens to stockpile food and water for three days in preparation for various risks, including extreme weather and cyberattacks. Dr. Horne also criticized the decades-long practice of prioritizing cost-efficiency over security in technology, leading to outdated systems and a lack of investment in security by design.