European grocery chains' freezers, refrigerators targeted in apparent cyberattacks

Grocery stores in several European countries are dealing with incidents affecting refrigerator and freezer systems that appear to be the results of cyberattacks.

Refrigeration systems have been malfunctioning Monday in Belgium, Sweden, Ireland, The Netherlands and Estonia, officials from affected companies told ABC News and local public broadcasters.

In each of the incidents, the reported cyberattacks altered the settings and functioning of refrigerator and freezer units, resulting in food spoilage.

The targets appear to have been smaller stores and have affected only a limited number of each chain's retail locations, according to statements obtained by ABC News.

Swedish grocery store chains ICA and Coop confirmed to ABC News that some of its stores had been affected, with ICA saying there was an "incident overnight affecting a small number of ICA stores operating outside ICA’s central network," and Coop saying the incident affected "seven out of more than 800 stores."

The situation was "contained and under control," according to a Coop spokesperson.

Coop added that the incident occurred ahead of a planned system upgrade, which had been in the works because of a similar issue affecting French grocery stores last month, in which hundreds of stores saw the fridges and freezers similarly hacked and temperatures set to 50 degrees Celsius, or 122 degrees Fahrenheit. Most of the systems targeted then were reportedly using outdated software.

One ICA grocery store in Sjöbo, Sweden, posted to social media that "overnight, our refrigerators and freezers were hacked, and the temperature was set to 50 degrees."

Belgian supermarket chains Delhaize and Carrefour were also affected, representatives for the companies told ABC News, with Delhaize referring to it as an "IT incident."

"[T]he impact at Carrefour is very limited: currently 15 of our 700 stores are affected," a spokesperson told ABC News, adding "all stores remain open because it only concerns a few refrigeration units, mainly freezers."

Musgrave, the company that owns Irish grocery chain SuperValu, told Irish broadcaster RTÉ that 13 stores had been affected by a suspected cyberattack that affected a specific refrigeration model.

Dutch refrigeration company Danfoss told public broadcaster NOS that seventeen facilities using its refrigeration systems, such as frozen product storage and butcher shops, were affected by a cyberattack of the kind that hit French stores last month. Danfoss systems were affected at the time in France as well.

Several military bases in the U.S. experienced similar cyberattacks in August, according to Reuters, which said at least six commissaries -- on-base grocery stores -- had been affected in ways similar to the recent European attacks, including the October incidents in France. The Pentagon is investigating the incidents, according to Reuters.