Cyber hackers could target home appliances next after commercial refrigerators and freezers were breached in hundreds of supermarkets last month, an EU chief has warned.
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chief → target → supermarkets
Executive director of the EU's cybersecurity agency Juhan Lepassar said on Tuesday anything from routers to home appliances could be hit as he warned that 'security should not be an afterthought'.
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security → say → appliances
The hacks which struck supermarkets in October were among the most disruptive cyberattacks in 2026, which have included the targeting of Los Angeles' transit system in March and US water treatments in July.
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which → strike → July
Only yesterday, French officials accused Iran's Revolutionary Guards of orchestrating the attacks - and warned that there will be consequences, 10 months after the Iran-US war broke out.
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war → accuse → attacks
Speaking in Brussels as he unveiled a report on the state of the European Union's cybersecurity, Mr Lepassar said: 'Security should not and cannot be an afterthought.
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Security → speak → cybersecurity
He added: 'All incidents can be avoided, but the question is, are we ready to invest to make it happen?
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it → add → ?
'Every single service that you are depending on as a citizen, as a human being, contains a layer whereby there is a digital element in it, a piece of code which, if not protected, can be hacked.
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which → depend → code
The attackers programmed refrigeration systems to blow hot air at 50C in October, causing temperatures inside the fridges to reach 36C, meaning a huge quantity of produce had to be thrown away
The October 11 cyber-attack, which overrode the temperature controls on commercial fridges in hundreds of establishments, appeared to have been easy to pull off, cyber-security experts previously told Reuters.
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experts → program → Reuters
The firm behind many of the stricken units said that several were obsolete or were running outdated firmware, which could have made it easy for hackers to break in.
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hackers → stricken → firmware
Some refrigerators had the temperature turned up so high they caught fire.
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they → have → fire
The Paris prosecutor's office said the cyber-attack showed a methodology characteristic of the 'Shahid Kaveh Group', an elite offensive cyber unit believed to work in the service of the IRGC.
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attack → say → IRGC
An investigation into the fridge hacks also showed the use of Farsi, and IP addresses pointed to devices located in Iran.
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addresses → show → Iran
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Monday that an Iranian ambassador has been summoned to his country's Foreign Ministry.
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ambassador → say → Ministry
Mr Barrot also threatened further EU sanctions against Iran, saying 'there will be consequences' following the attack.
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Barrot → threaten → attack
It came after Iran's mission to the United Nations did not return messages seeking comment and Tehran routinely denies carrying out malicious cyber operations.
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Tehran → come → operations
Speaking after a G7 ministerial in Paris, Mr Barrot said that an investigation was still underway.
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investigation → speak → Paris
In the hours following the hack, supermarket employees carted boxes full of perished meat and melted ice cream into giant trash containers.
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employees → follow → containers
The attack's total costs could add up to tens of millions of euros nationwide, one French supermarket owner estimated.
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owner → add → euros
The hacks were followed this month by a second wave of hacking that hit more than 100 establishments across Europe and even affected refrigerators used by French blood banks, prompting employees there to have to move some of the blood to different cold storage units.
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that → follow → units
The seemingly straightforward nature of the refrigerator hacks – and their repetition across multiple countries – prompted speculation about who might be responsible amid ongoing concerns over Russia's suspected sabotage campaign in Europe, the war between the US and Iran and the global rise of AI-powered cyberattacks.
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who → prompt → cyberattacks
The sabotage of European supermarket fridges was preceded by at least one similar incident in the United States.
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sabotage → precede → States
In August, refrigerators in at least half a dozen military commissaries went out of commission.
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refrigerators → go → commission
Pentagon investigators are treating the malfunctions as a suspected cyber-attack and are working with French officials to get to the bottom of what happened.
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what → treat → bottom
A person familiar with the matter said that the Pentagon considers Iran a suspect in the August commissary hacks but that the investigation is still in progress.
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investigation → say → progress
The Pentagon said on Monday that it is 'aware of speculation regarding a potential cyber incident' but that military investigators were on the case and it could not offer further comment for security reasons.
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it → say → reasons
In France, the attackers programmed refrigeration systems to blow hot air at 50C causing temperatures inside the fridges to reach 36C, meaning a huge quantity of produce had to be thrown away.
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quantity → program → produce
The hack targeted thousands of refrigeration units across more than 700 retailers in France.
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hack → target → France
Stores belonging to Carrefour, Monoprix, Intermarche and Cooperative U were among those attacked when attackers manually overrode fridge temperatures.
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attackers → belong → temperatures
Dominique Schelcher, chief executive of Cooperative U, described the attack as 'unprecedented'.
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Schelcher → describe → attack
He said: 'Targeting equipment essential to the preservation of fresh products and to the food supply of the French people is extremely serious and is unprecedented.
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Targeting → say → people
This is a breaking news story, more to follow.
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This → break → ?
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