The Italian government convened urgent meetings with intelligence chiefs on Tuesday following a series of cyberattacks targeting cooling systems in supermarkets across more than 11 European countries. These attacks, which occurred in recent days, have not been claimed by any
group and have prompted warnings from the European Union about a deliberate attempt to disrupt food supply chains within member states. EU spokesperson Thomas Renier stated that the bloc's agencies are also meeting with national authorities to discuss the best
collective response to these attacks. He added that national investigations are underway, with continuous coordination with relevant authorities, emphasizing that these incidents are not isolated and highlighting the need to strengthen collective resilience and preparedness against such cyber incidents. Stores
in Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, and Sweden reported issues with their cooling systems, forcing many to discard food products due to rising temperatures inside refrigerators. This follows a similar cyberattack three weeks earlier
that caused food stock losses in French stores. In Italy, government ministers met with intelligence heads and the National Cybersecurity Agency, which issued technical guidance to retail stores to enhance system protection. The government stated in a release that initial
investigations indicate the impact of the attacks within the country is currently very limited, affecting only a small number of commercial units. Reports revealed that the affected stores operated on "outdated security systems, with publicly exposed APIs and weak authentication
mechanisms." Approximately 20 stores across Italy were reported affected. Belgium was among the hardest hit countries, with dozens of stores from major chains reporting cooling system failures, prompting federal prosecutors to open an investigation into the incident.
