Brits warned to stockpile after ‘cyberattack’ sees ‘freezers switched to defrost mode’

The chief executive of the National Cyber Security center has urged Brits to stockpile emergency supplies in the wake of supermarket cyberattacks.

GCHQ has been alerting organisations in the UK which could be at risk after supermarket freezers across Europe were hit by cyberattacks.

The move by the UK’s intelligence and security agency came after supermarkets across the continent were hit by issues with freezers and fridges.

Dr Richard Horne, CEO of NCSC, part of GCHQ, admitted there are a couple of instances in the UK where ‘vulnerable technology has been exploited’ after the cyber attacks in Europe.

BBC pointed out that some freezers in the UK have been switched to defrost just after the similar cyberattacks in Europe.

Dr Horne admitted: ‘We don’t know the full impact, but we can see there are a couple of instances where vulnerable technology has been exploited, and we will be working with those organisations to understand more.’

He also reiterated warnings from the defense Secretary, which urged people to stockpile necessities.

‘We saw criminal attacks last year impact retailers in the UK. We know it can happen, and we’ve seen it across Europe,’ he added.

The areas affected aren’t just supermarkets, he added, telling BBC Radio 4: ‘It’s through the whole food supply chain, and we’ve been working through the night alerting organisations where we can see they’ve got exposed technology that’s vulnerable in this way.

‘So there are handfuls of organisations in the UK we’ve alerted, and we’re aware of a couple of impacts.’

Earlier today, Security expert Will Geddes told Metro that the NCSC’s report citing a potential attack in two years underestimates the threat facing the UK.

‘AI-boosted attacks on critical national infrastructure could happen within the next two months,’ he admitted. ‘AI is being used in so many different ways.’

‘GCHQ is warning the UK to get a grip on this now because if we don’t, we’re going to find ourselves in a worse situation down the line. The threat is so great that we’ve got to tell the general public that although technology is simplifying our lives, we are becoming more reliant on it,’ Mr Geddes said.

‘Think about it – pick your partner and your two best friends; can you, off the top of your head, recount what their telephone numbers are?

‘We used to be able to. We’re so reliant on that technology that we don’t actually think: what would we do if that technology goes down?’

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