Cyberattack disables cooling at Belgian supermarkets
Temperatures rose in refrigerators and freezers at dozens of Delhaize and Carrefour stores.
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A cyberattack disrupted the cooling systems of Belgian supermarkets on Monday. Delhaize says around forty stores were affected; RTL later reported that fifteen Carrefour stores also had problems.
Delhaize warned its branch managers at around four in the morning about suddenly rising temperatures in refrigeration systems. In some refrigerators, and especially freezers, temperatures rose to around 15 degrees, according to the retailer. Delhaize is provisionally referring to an ‘incident informatique’ and is investigating the cause.
The consequences are immediately visible in the stores. Products that are no longer safely refrigerated or frozen may have to be thrown away. How many products will actually need to be discarded depends on the impact on food safety. The cause of the disruption and any party responsible have not yet been established.
Fifteen Carrefour stores are also said to have been affected. The reports therefore concern more than one supermarket chain; it has not yet been established whether they have the same cause. The Belgian incidents bring to mind an attack on French supermarkets on 12 October, in which the temperature settings of refrigerators were changed remotely. RTL reports that the Belgian authorities and the companies involved are investigating whether there is a connection; this has not yet been established.
The disruption affects the refrigeration of food in stores. If refrigerators are connected to corporate networks and managed remotely, this can make maintenance easier. Such connections also require protection against misuse. A vulnerability at a supplier or management platform could therefore affect many branches at the same time.
For Dutch consumers, it is particularly relevant that Ahold Delhaize, the parent company of Albert Heijn, previously reported a cybersecurity incident. According to the company, it took systems offline as a precaution at the time. The Belgian refrigeration problems are therefore not automatically the same incident: a connection between Ahold Delhaize’s network problem and the French refrigeration attack has not been established, but neither has it been ruled out. Nor can any connection with the new Belgian disruption be inferred from this.
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One story, several perspectives
What is established
- Refrigerators and freezers at Belgian Delhaize and Carrefour stores unexpectedly rose in temperature on 2 November 2026.
- Delhaize reported around forty affected stores; RTL later reported fifteen affected Carrefour stores.
- The cause, perpetrator and any relationship with earlier European incidents have not been established.
- Connected refrigeration systems can be managed remotely and therefore pose a cybersecurity risk.
Left
Arguments The attack shows that vital parts of the food supply cannot be left solely to market players. Suppliers and retailers should organise stronger security, transparency and public oversight.
Values Food safety, the protection of workers and consumers, and collective responsibility are central.
Consequences Stricter requirements may increase costs for companies, but according to this approach they reduce the risk that a digital disruption will lead to waste or disruption of the food supply.
Centre
Arguments The first priority is to establish what happened technically, which stores were affected and whether products are safe. Regulators and companies can then assess whether existing European cyber rules are sufficient.
Values Proportionality, evidence and continuity of the food chain are central.
Consequences A targeted approach prevents both underestimating the risk and introducing costly measures that do not match the actual vulnerability.
Right
Arguments Supermarket companies should primarily remain responsible for their own digital security and bear the consequences of any neglected maintenance. The government should mainly act against perpetrators and enforce clear minimum standards.
Values Personal responsibility, property rights and limiting bureaucratic burdens are central.
Consequences Greater liability for companies may accelerate investment in security, while broad new rules would not, according to this approach, automatically provide better protection.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The core facts about the Belgian disruption are based on a report by RTL Info dated 2 November 2026 and are consistent with independent reporting on earlier European supermarket incidents. Any possible connection with earlier attacks has explicitly been presented as unconfirmed.
- confirmed Around forty Delhaize stores were affected by rising temperatures in refrigerators. — RTL Info reports this based on information from Delhaize. source
- confirmed Fifteen Carrefour stores were also affected. — RTL Info mentions this in the same report. source
- confirmed Temperatures rose to around 15 degrees in some installations. — RTL Info cites an average temperature of around 15 degrees. source
- confirmed The cause and responsible party have not yet been established. — The source refers to a cyberattack or IT incident, but names no perpetrator or definitive technical cause. source
- uncertain The earlier Ahold Delhaize incident was separate from the French refrigeration attack. — Ahold Delhaize described its own incident as a network problem; independent reporting said that a connection had not been established. It has therefore not been presented as definitively ruled out. source
Editor's note
The new Belgian disruption was reported directly by RTL. The cause, responsible party and any connection with earlier incidents have not yet been established.Sources
More on this in Dutch media
- Het Parool — „cyberaanval belgië”
- NRC — „cyberaanval belgië”
- Tweakers — „cyberaanval belgië”