Twice in the space of a few weeks, have managed to seize control of supermarket refrigeration systems in Europe. It began with hundreds of French stores in mid-October, after which, in early November, hackers struck outlets in Sweden, Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands, and elsewhere. The hackers remotely forced freezers and chillers into prolonged defrost mode, driving temperatures to more than 120 degrees Fahrenheit and spoiling large quantities of food. These attacks have revealed an underrated aspect of rearmament that has so far been almost completely overlooked: civil defense.
Hackers behind most ransomware attacks demand payment. These hackers simply disrupted Europe’s food supply and left without a message. Only a few days after the most recent (as of this writing) attacks, in early November, did a Russian group finally claim responsibility. European policymakers who may have wished that some random teenagers were behind the attacks instead had their fears confirmed: This was a Russian attack against Europe’s food supply.
Comments