The key facts

  • About 40 Delhaize stores, at least 15 Carrefour and 5 Spar stores affected
  • Damage: around €100,000 worth of discarded food
  • The attack came a few weeks after a similar incident in France

What happened

Dozens of supermarkets in Belgium were hit by a cyberattack in which the temperature in refrigerators and freezers was raised to 70 degrees Celsius. According to Belgian media, this forced the disposal of roughly 100,000 euros worth of food. Euronews reports this citing local media.

Scale of the incident

The attack was carried out overnight from Sunday to Monday. Around 40 Delhaize stores were affected; Carrefour reported at least 15 affected supermarkets, Spar five, and the refrigerators of the meat group De Laet en Van Haver were also hit. A Delhaize spokesperson confirmed to Euronews: 'We identified an IT incident that affected the cooling systems in several dozen stores. We immediately took the necessary measures so that the stores could continue operating.' The outlet notes that the attack came a few weeks after a similar incident in France; information is still being clarified.