Hackers have twice taken control of supermarket fridges across Europe in less than a month, sparking fires and spoiling millions of euros’ worth of food.
asserted
Hackers → take → food
On October 11 and 12, attackers heated units at about 700 French stores to as high as 50C (122F).
asserted
attackers → heat → 50C
On November 2, a second wave of suspected cyberattacks affected supermarkets and food businesses in at least nine European countries, including Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden.
asserted
wave → suspect → Belgium
France has since blamed the first attack on Shahid Kaveh, a cyberunit affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), calling it the first large-scale sabotage cyberattack on French soil.
asserted
France → blame → soil
The attacks have raised concern about how exposed internet-connected equipment has become, from industrial machinery to household appliances.
asserted
equipment → raise → appliances
Al Jazeera illustrates the devices at risk in your home and the essential services you rely on, and what you can do to protect yourself.
asserted
you → illustrate → yourself
How can a fridge be hacked?
asserted
fridge → hack → ?
A supermarket’s fridges and freezers are run from one control panel, which is connected to the internet so contractors can manage it remotely.
asserted
contractors → run → it
Home smart fridges connect the same way, through Wi-Fi, an app or a cloud service.
asserted
fridges → connect → Wi
The attackers reportedly found the supermarket systems using Shodan, a search engine for internet-connected devices.
uncertain
attackers → find → devices
According to Vincent Strubel, head of France’s National Cybersecurity Agency (ANSSI), they got in through basic security failures:
uncertain
they → accord → failures
The equipment was directly connected to the open internet with no extra protection.
asserted
equipment → connect → protection
- Weak passwords: Many systems were protected only by weak or default logins.
asserted
systems → protect → logins
- Outdated: Many units were old models that no longer get security updates.
asserted
that → get → updates
Once inside, hackers can switch a fridge off, raise its temperature or steal account details.
asserted
hackers → switch → details
In France, they simply used the controllers’ own defrost function.
asserted
they → use → function
A poorly protected fridge can also be a doorway to other devices on the same network, from laptops to smart locks.
asserted
fridge → protect → locks
Speaking to the French Senate on October 21, Strubel warned that the healthcare sector uses the same type of equipment to store vaccines and hazardous materials, from research laboratories to pharmacies.
asserted
sector → speak → pharmacies
Essentially, anything connected via the internet could potentially be hacked.
uncertain
anything → connect → internet
US internet households now have an average of about 18 connected devices, nearly double the number a decade ago, according to Parks Associates.
uncertain
households → have → Associates
In April, the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) warned that hackers linked to Russia’s GRU military intelligence were hijacking home and small business routers.
asserted
hackers → warn → routers
By tampering with their DNS settings, which turn website names into IP addresses, the hackers redirected users to fake websites to steal passwords and personal details.
asserted
hackers → tamper → passwords
Smart TVs can be hacked without their owners knowing.
asserted
owners → hack → ?
In June, researchers found that more than a third of apps on LG and Samsung smart TVs could let strangers secretly use a household’s internet connection, hiding their own activity behind that home’s IP address.
uncertain
strangers → find → address
Robot vacuums can expose even more.
asserted
vacuums → expose → more
Earlier this year, a programmer reportedly found he could control almost 7,000 DJI Romo robot vacuums with a PlayStation 5 controller.
uncertain
he → find → controller
Using Claude Code, an AI coding tool made by Anthropic, to work out how the vacuums talked to DJI’s servers, he gained access to their live camera feeds, audio and floor plans of people’s homes.
asserted
he → use → homes
What vital services can be hacked?
asserted
services → hack → ?
The same weaknesses that expose a fridge can affect power plants, water supplies, banks and hospitals.
asserted
that → expose → plants
Many of these services are run by industrial computers that can be reached online.
asserted
that → run → computers
Since the US-Israel war on Iran began, US agencies have warned that Iran-affiliated hackers are attacking these systems.
asserted
hackers → begin → systems
In July, a cyberattack in the US state of Minnesota targeted more than 30 community water systems, according to the state’s IT agency.
uncertain
cyberattack → target → agency
Officials suspected Iran-aligned hackers, and the FBI and CISA warned that water and wastewater systems were increasingly being targeted, with facilities in 12 states affected at the time.
asserted
facilities → suspect → time
That same month, a cyberattack attributed to Iran-linked hackers forced a small British power plant offline for four days.
asserted
cyberattack → attribute → days
It was reported as the first successful attack of its kind on UK energy infrastructure.
asserted
It → report → infrastructure
The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) lists sectors it considers critical infrastructure.
asserted
it → list → sectors
The graphic below shows some of the key ones, and what a hack on each could mean for you.
uncertain
hack → show → you
In late September and early October, hackers stole personal data from at least seven South Korean financial firms, affecting about 68,000 people.
asserted
hackers → steal → people
Yegaram Savings Bank and Shinhan Bank were hit hardest, with about 40,000 and 25,000 customers affected, respectively.
asserted
customers → hit → ?
According to The Wall Street Journal, the attacker used ARTEX, an open-source AI tool developed in China to test networks for weaknesses.
uncertain
attacker → accord → weaknesses
…and 17 more, not listed.
The Aporia
