Wave of cyberattacks and suspected sabotage raises questions about Europe's defenses

Last week, hackers remotely altered refrigeration systems at supermarkets in Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden and the Netherlands, setting temperatures to as high as 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit) and forcing retailers including Ahold Delhaize, IKEA, Colruyt Group and Carrefour to discard spoiled food. French blood-bank refrigeration systems were subsequently targeted in what appeared to be a similar incident, according to a report from CNBC. A wave of suspected hoax bomb threats then disrupted dozens of flights across Europe, prompting diversions and, in some cases, fighter jet escorts. The week ended with bomb threats against European news outlets including the UK's Sky News and Irish public broadcaster RTÉ.

Authorities have not established who was behind the attacks or whether they were connected. Kaushal said the incidents should be viewed within the broader context of suspected sabotage and hybrid threats across Europe, including damage to undersea cables in the Baltic Sea and a bomb placed on a DHL aircraft in 2024.

Sidharth Kaushal, a research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), said that if Russia were responsible, such attacks could be intended to show European leaders the costs of supporting Ukraine. He told CNBC the aim was more about cost imposition: convincing European political leadership that the costs of war can come home to them.

Fredrik Blix, a cybersecurity expert at Visente and associate professor at Stockholm University, said the supermarket attacks required little technical sophistication, with vulnerable refrigeration control systems connected directly to the public internet and some protected only by default passwords or easily guessed credentials. He warned that publicity around the attacks could encourage copycat activity, noting that "anyone can do it, and it does not require any resources from a country." While acknowledging the possibility of state involvement, Blix said the more likely scenario was someone testing boundaries and "having some fun."

Oana Popescu-Zamfir, a senior research fellow specializing in European security at RUSI, said Europe had been slow to adjust to a new reality where the conceptual divide between peace and wartime no longer applies. She said Europe was likely to face sustained hybrid attacks designed to achieve military objectives without conventional force, and that Russia could draw on networks of proxies in Europe, making direct attribution difficult. She told CNBC the potential damage to internet-connected systems is huge, citing disruption of blood reserves, and that such attacks can cause tremendous damage both concretely and in terms of psychological impact on societies.

European governments are contending with greater uncertainty over US security guarantees and decades of underinvestment in defense, while facing a rise in unconventional threats. Hybrid warfare combines cyberattacks, sabotage and disinformation to destabilize adversaries without triggering open conflict. Kaushal noted that while Finland and Sweden have well-developed civilian defense programs reflecting Cold War experience, much of Europe's infrastructure was built for economic efficiency rather than defense, and preparation levels decline further west.

Blix said basic cyber hygiene measures, such as not connecting industrial control systems directly online without proper security, could reduce exposure. But responsibility is split among product manufacturers, maintenance providers and retailers, with each pointing to the others, and he expressed concern that little meaningful action is being taken despite many risk assessments.

Separately, Europe has seen widespread unrest in recent months over high living costs, with unrest reported in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Albania. In Spain, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called a snap election, with the vote scheduled for November 29, after demonstrations and a parliamentary impasse over the housing crisis. Alexander Anderson, president and director of policy at the Centre for International Security and Economic Strategy, said Russian and potentially Chinese influence operations may work to amplify domestic divisions, but cautioned against dismissing legitimate grievances as foreign interference.