Russia denies involvement in fridge hacks across Europe

A spokesperson for the Kremlin denied on Thursday that Russia had any involvement in the cyberattacks affecting supermarket refrigerators, calling the allegations “absurd.”

Dmitry Peskov said accusations of Russian involvement in the attacks are “unfounded,” according to reports in Russian media. These allegations are “becoming a persistent trend in European countries,” he added.

Supermarket refrigerators have been hacked in multiple European countries over the past few weeks, forcing retailers to throw away thawing fresh and frozen food. The attacks also hit French blood banks, though the country’s blood collection service said its supplies were not affected.

While pro-Russian hacker groups claimed the attacks on Wednesday, it is notoriously difficult to attribute a cyberattack to a specific actor definitively, and those groups quickly deleted the claims, according to the BBC.

Some cybersecurity experts say Russia is one of the main suspects. Xavier Bellekens, CEO of cybersecurity firm Lupovis, told POLITICO that clues pointed to “a Russian state-sponsored threat actor.” However, a report from cyber defense firm Sekoia noted that “Iranian-aligned actors have an established record” of targeting supermarkets, for instance in the U.S. and Israel.

Cybersecurity authorities in countries affected by the hacks haven’t publicly attributed the attacks.

Marie Thirion contributed to this report.