Hacker attacks on supermarkets, Palazzo Chigi: ‘No cause for alarm, but maximum vigilance’

A meeting was held at Palazzo Chigi to discuss the cyber-attacks on supermarket refrigeration systems, attended by the Under-Secretary to the Prime Minister, Alfredo Mantovano, the Minister for Agriculture, Francesco Lollobrigida, and the directors of the National Cybersecurity Agency and the intelligence agencies. The Government has taken stock of the wave of cyber-attacks affecting several European countries and has reassured the public regarding the situation in Italy: ‘There is therefore no cause for alarm, but all relevant institutional bodies remain on high alert’. In Italia, only a few commercial operations have been affected and ‘no cases of risk to public health attributable to data breaches have emerged’. However, vigilance remains extremely high, with fears of further incidents that could disrupt transport, as has happened in the past. In the background looms the spectre of a hybrid war that has been creeping across the Old Continent for some time now.

The government is closing ranks and deploying its top cybersecurity experts following incidents that have also affected five Conad-branded shops – three in Sicily and two in Veneto. The attacks are targeting the systems that control refrigeration, causing temperatures to rise in the display cabinets and storage areas where food is kept, with peaks of 50 degrees recorded. The government’s initial assessment limits the scope of the incidents to the national territory. ‘Initial findings suggest that the impact of the attacks in Italia is currently very limited,’ states the statement from Palazzo Chigi. ‘Only a few commercial premises have been affected, out of the thousands across the country’, most of which are still equipped with obsolete security measures, with interfaces directly exposed to the internet and weaknesses in authentication mechanisms. The majority of the supply chain, the government points out, has up-to-date systems capable of repelling intrusions.

As regards inspections, any anomalies are reported by the ACN to the Carabinieri’s NAS unit ‘in order to ensure prompt action’. The Agency is also holding meetings with representatives of the sector and the management of the main operators. The Government is focusing on four areas of action: monitoring and analysing the threat, which has been underway for several months; ongoing dialogue with suppliers and retailers in the food supply chain; identifying and promptly notifying those at risk; and issuing preventative communications and guidance to reduce risks.

Conad has provided an initial overview of the incidents in Italia. “Out of 3,300 shops in Italia,” the group explains, the attacks took place at two outlets in the Veneto region and three in Sicily – in Catania, Messina and Palermo. The incidents were reported to the postal police in the affected areas. The attack took place at around 4 am on 2 November and targeted the temperature monitoring systems of the frozen food cabinets. “At present, it is impossible to quantify the damage, but we have not had to throw anything away thanks to the prompt intervention of IT technicians to contain the problem,” Conad states.

Damage to food stocks has, however, been reported from Germany. According to the German news agency DPA, a supermarket run by the charity Arbeiterwohlfahrt in Wetter-Volmarstein, North Rhine-Westphalia, has been affected. Temperatures rose in the refrigerated display cabinets and outdoor storage areas, forcing the shop to dispose of large quantities of food. The extent of the damage remains to be clarified. According to a spokesperson for the organisation, the real target was the company responsible for remote maintenance of the systems. German media are also reporting incidents in Wuppertal and the Münsterland region. In Belgium, the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office has launched an investigation; attacks have also been reported in the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Sweden, Finland, Estonia and Ireland.