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Author | Raquel C. Pico
First, several hundred French supermarkets were affected. When store employees arrived to open up early one Monday morning in October, they discovered that the refrigerated food had spoiled. The thermostats had risen to 50°C. Then, in early November, the same thing happened at stores in Sweden, Belgium, Luxembourg, Estonia, Ireland, and Italy, although this time temperatures had climbed to 80°C, causing the refrigerators themselves to overheat. This was not a widespread case of malfunctioning refrigerators, but rather the work of cybercriminals exploiting an IoT vulnerability to wreak havoc.
The very feature that had made these refrigerators so attractive to the companies that purchased them was also the weakness that enabled the attack. As FranceInfo explains, all the refrigerators were connected to a digital monitoring system. This allows temperatures to be controlled remotely using smart systems, ensuring they remain constant and within safe limits at all times.
However, this also provided an entry point for cybercriminals, who only had to access the system remotely to change the settings as they pleased. Following the mid-October attack, the company responsible for the refrigerators explained that the affected French supermarkets were using older models that had not been updated, leaving them vulnerable. These connected devices were not up to date in terms of security.
Whatever the case, the end result has been alarming headlines, mountains of food waste, and millions in losses for the affected supermarket chains. It has also raised new questions and concerns. In the age of smart cities, everything is becoming increasingly connected, digitized, and interconnected, but is connecting everything really worth it?
A growing risk for smart cities
Cities are key targets, and their critical infrastructure is essential and must be safeguarded and protected. This is crucial in everyday life, but even more so as threats increase.
Geopolitical tensions have spilled over into the digital realm, and cybersecurity has become a fundamental component of a country’s or city’s broader strategy, particularly when it comes to smart cities. Organizations such as the European Union have repeatedly warned about these issues in recent years and have even raised the risk level for the coming months.
Who is behind the attacks?
It is still unknown who was behind the attacks on European supermarkets in October and November. Following the first attack, European Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Christophe Hansen warned on social media that “food security needs more attention than ever. Because the weaponization of food has become a reality.” Following the second attack, as reported by the French press, he stated that “the recurrence of these cyberattacks is extremely concerning.”
The ultimate objective also remains unclear, beyond potential destabilization. This is why the media have linked these cyberattacks on supermarkets to an attempted attack on a French blood bank and even the wave of bomb threats targeting European flights in early November. “Various essential services are experiencing disruptions that generate economic costs and can undermine public trust,” says Eliran Almog, CEO of Cyviation.
What happens when IoT fails
This loss of trust is precisely one of the potential consequences that this wave of cyberattacks could have for smart cities. At a time when smart cities are taking things a step further by incorporating agentic AI, this could become a major problem. After all, artificial intelligence improves processes, but it also creates new potential weaknesses and vulnerabilities.
Smart city cybersecurity is a fundamental part of their strategy, as the many layers of connected devices, sensors, and technologies they use also include tools designed to make cities safer. IoT vulnerabilities and their exploitation by cybercriminals could lead people to believe that their smart cities are not secure and to question whether digitalization should extend to so many areas of public services.
In fact, the big question circulating on social media is whether supermarket refrigerators really need to be smart. In reality, digitalizing these types of devices offers economic, efficiency, and even sustainability benefits. However, because these benefits are largely invisible (and intangible to the end consumer), they are not immediately apparent.
Some key questions
Do we know who is behind the wave of cyberattacks on European supermarkets?
No, those responsible for these cyberattacks have yet to be identified.
How many countries have been affected?
The first cyberattack primarily affected French supermarkets. The second, in early November, affected supermarkets in Sweden, Belgium, Luxembourg, Estonia, Ireland, and Italy.
Should cities stop investing in digitalization to avoid these types of problems?
In reality, innovation is an essential part of what defines cities. At the same time, the challenges cities face would be impossible to address and overcome using analog solutions and outdated resources. The key is to understand the risks involved and take a proactive approach to managing them.
Photos | AJ Watt/iStock, Pressmaster/iStock, metamorworks/iStock
