Cyberattack Disrupts Italian Supermarket Operations Amid European Retailer Security Crisis

The wave of cyberattacks currently targeting approximately one hundred supermarkets across Sweden, Belgium, Luxembourg, Estonia, and Ireland has reached Italy. At least four Coop locations—three in Catania and one in Palermo—were impacted by a suspected breach that compromised refrigeration control systems. The resulting temperature spikes forced retailers to discard significant quantities of spoiled food.

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Giuseppe Spadaro, general manager of the Radenza group which operates Coop supermarkets, initially reported the incident to Ansa. Danilo Radenza, CEO of Coop Radenza, later confirmed the breach, stating: “We have verified an attack on our remote control systems for frozen-food counters. Following a thorough screening, it appears there is no further damage, though the attack was successful.”

Incidents Reported in Tuscany and Emilia Romagna

Spadaro noted that postal police are currently working to determine the scale and origin of the attacks while investigating potential links to similar incidents across Europe. “We are assessing the total damage. While we have resolved issues in some locations, we have already engaged the National Cybersecurity Agency (ACN) and activated protocols for an in-depth investigation,” the Radenza director added.

The National Cybersecurity Agency (ACN) has confirmed reports of an incident affecting a catering company in Tuscany and has detected an attack targeting a frozen food producer in Emilia.

According to Ansa, the ACN has issued an urgent recommendation for food distribution chains to audit whether their remote assistance and control systems are exposed to the public internet. The agency advises strengthening remote access through VPNs and multi-factor authentication, reviewing privileged account access, and updating or replacing end-of-life hardware.

A high-level meeting between the ACN, industry federations, and major national retail corporations is scheduled for tomorrow.

Context of Recent European Retailer Breaches

Law enforcement is investigating whether these events are connected to recent disruptions in other European nations. The Parliamentary Committee for the Security of the Republic (Copasir) is expected to request a formal government briefing on Tuesday.

The cyberattacks, which occurred around 4:00 AM, pushed refrigeration temperatures in affected European supermarkets above 50 degrees Celsius, leaving retailers with massive amounts of spoiled inventory upon opening their doors.

The European Union has characterized the trend as “highly worrying.” This follows a significant cyberattack on October 12 that struck major supermarket chains in France, resulting in losses totaling millions of euros. While no group has claimed responsibility, experts believe the incidents are part of a coordinated campaign.

In response, Palazzo Chigi has organized an emergency meeting coordinated by Undersecretary Alfredo Mantovano, to be attended by the Director of the National Cybersecurity Agency and the heads of Italy’s intelligence services.

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