Hybrid War and Cyberattacks: The Cold Chain in Large-Scale Retail Is at Risk

Published 2026-11-09

Hybrid warfare has now reached large-scale retail. According to an article published by TechFromTheNet, a series of cyberattacks on the control systems of refrigerators and refrigerated display cabinets is putting food safety at risk. The issue concerns the so-called cold chain, that is, the set of processes that keep perishable foods at a suitable temperature from the producer to the supermarket shelf.

The cyberattacks target the digital systems that manage temperature. If these systems are manipulated, fresh products such as meat, milk, fish and vegetables may not be stored correctly. A change in temperature can cause bacteria to grow and make food dangerous to consumers' health, even when the product still appears normal.

Cybersecurity experts stress that large-scale retail is an important target because it uses many technologies connected to the internet. This makes it more difficult to protect every single facility. Companies in the sector must therefore update their systems and carefully check who can access their internal networks.

In Italy, as in other European countries, the authorities responsible for food safety and digital security are following these incidents closely. For citizens, the most important advice remains to always check the expiry date and to store perishable foods properly at home, because product safety depends on the entire supply chain.

Sources: TechFromTheNet

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