The European Commission held emergency meetings with security agencies and specialized networks to assess the repercussions of a wave of cyberattacks targeting the cooling systems of major supermarkets in several EU countries, and to discuss ways to coordinate a collective response, amid warnings of the expanding scope of threats endangering food security and essential services.
Italian news agency ANSA quoted European Commission spokesperson Thomas Renninger as saying during a press conference that "European actions included two parallel tracks for information exchange and damage assessment, involving intensive coordination between EU agencies concerned with cybersecurity and communication crises."
Renninger clarified that the first meeting was dedicated to coordinating the efforts of the Joint Task Force, the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA), and the European Police Office (Europol), alongside relevant Commission services, while the second meeting was held in coordination with the European Network of Communications Organizations for Cybersecurity Crisis "CyCLONe".
He noted that the meeting took place with the participation of member states and national authorities, including those affected by these attacks, with the aim of exchanging information and evaluating the best ways to respond collectively, as the issue does not concern just one member state but several countries.
Renninger pointed out that these incidents again demonstrate how cyberattacks can disrupt essential services and affect citizens' daily lives, noting that national authorities are investigating these attacks and that the Commission is in close contact with them.
The retail sector's infrastructure in Europe recently witnessed a widespread wave of cyberattacks targeting the control systems of supermarket cooling, affecting several countries, including France, Belgium, Italy, Sweden, Luxembourg, and Estonia, leading to the spoilage of large quantities of frozen food and causing companies financial losses amounting to millions of euros.
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA)
Comments (0)