Supermarket freezers fail in four European countries; cyberattack suspected

Supermarkets in Sweden, Belgium, Luxembourg and Estonia reported fridge and freezer malfunctions or temperature spikes, according to The Verge and Deutsche Welle. Earlier reports named only the first three countries. The Verge cites local reports shared by Bloomberg and Reuters for the Estonia incidents.

The Guardian and Al Jazeera say dozens of stores were affected. The Guardian, BBC News, CBS News and France 24 describe the incidents as a suspected or apparent cyberattack. France 24 says the temperature spikes came early Monday.

In Sweden, Coop told the newspaper Aftonbladet that six of its stores were hit. ICA said a limited number of stores were affected by an overnight incident in their refrigeration and freezer systems. The Verge says an Ica Kvantum store posted about the problem on Facebook.

The BBC reports one Swedish store said its freezer temperatures were set to 50C (122F). CBS News reports temperatures in some stores rose above 100 degrees.

Outlets link the incidents to an attack in France about three weeks earlier, according to Deutsche Welle. France 24 says that attack hit hundreds of supermarkets and caused food loss and fires. The Guardian says it caused millions of euros in food losses.