Did you know? Hackers can 'cook' supermarket ice cream from miles away

Picture this: you walk into the supermarket for ice cream and the freezer is warm as a sauna. That's what happened in several European countries this week. Not a breakdown, but a cyberattack: someone changed the fridge temperatures remotely.

The story has reached Malaysia too. On 3 November 2026, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced a special meeting to make sure the country is ready for cyber and digital threats.

What happened to Europe's supermarket fridges?

According to Reuters (via Al Jazeera, 2 November), fridge and freezer temperatures spiked overnight at supermarkets in Belgium, Estonia, Ireland, Luxembourg and Sweden:

• Sweden: ICA and Coop stores were hit. Axfood said freezers at a home-delivery distribution centre near Gothenburg were hacked.
• Ireland: SuperValu confirmed a "cyber incident" affecting one fridge model at 13 of its 223 stores.
• Belgium and Luxembourg: dozens of Ahold Delhaize stores and five Spar shops.
• Estonia: tech supplier Kitman Coldtech said temperatures at one chain were set to 50°C.

The CEO of Belgian refrigeration firm Sabcobel said the units were switched into defrost mode. In plain terms, the fridges were told to stop being cold.

RTM reported the attack disrupted cooling systems at more than 100 retail premises across several European countries, and some retailers had to pull food from sale.

Not the first time: France was hit first

Last month, around 11 October 2026, the same thing happened in France. According to Wikipedia, up to 700 supermarkets were affected, including Intermarché, Carrefour and Monoprix.

• Fridge temperatures climbed to about 50°C after six hours, some up to 80°C.
• Some equipment melted or caught fire, and sprinklers caused water damage.
• Losses were estimated in the tens of millions of euros.

The cause? Fridge controllers exposed directly to the internet, using weak logins, and some older models that had reached end-of-life without updates. No one has claimed responsibility.

Did you know? Modern supermarket fridges are often run by smart systems that technicians can monitor remotely. Handy for them, but if they're not locked down properly, handy for hackers too.

Update: now spread to 11 countries

Updated 5 November 2026.

According to Al Jazeera (4 November), the attacks now affect at least 11 European countries:

• Beyond the first five, Finland, Italy, the Netherlands and Portugal also reported problems on Monday. The UK was hit too.
• On Tuesday, 4 supermarkets in Germany and 6 in Romania were affected.
• In France, cold storage at at least 3 blood banks was tampered with. Products were moved in time, none were damaged and no patients were affected.
• Romania's cyber chief called the attack "semi-amateurish" and said he doesn't suspect a state actor.
• The European Union said these are "not isolated incidents" but named no one. No group has claimed responsibility.

Refrigeration-controls maker Danfoss advises that these systems should not be reachable directly from the internet.

Why is Malaysia taking it seriously?

Anwar told the Dewan Rakyat on 3 November that the country's position could make Malaysia a target for intrusions and cyberattacks. According to RTM:

• A special meeting chaired by Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar, with all relevant departments.
• The Bank Negara Malaysia Governor holding a separate session with financial institutions.
• The government drawing lessons from the European Union's preparedness approach, which involves government, the private sector and society.

Anwar described the situation as under control and monitored daily. He asked Malaysians to stay "calm but alert" and report any unusual disruption to digital systems.

Related read: why Japan, the UK and Europe are telling people to stockpile food.

What can you do?

• Don't panic buy. The government says the situation is under control.
• Check frozen food before buying. If ice cream looks like it melted and refroze, leave it.
• Update your router and smart gadgets at home, and change default passwords.
• Get news from official sources, not forwarded WhatsApp chains.

Who knew a fridge could be a hacking target? How safe do you think our smart homes really are?