European security threats: cyberattacks, sabotage and riots

Cyber ​​attacks, bomb threats against airliners, civil unrest and suspected sabotage across Europe have raised questions about the continent’s resilience and how well-prepared it is to protect itself from modern security threats.

Last week, hackers remotely controlled the refrigeration systems of supermarkets across Europe, forcing retailers to throw away rotten food and exposing vulnerabilities in everyday infrastructure.

France’s blood bank refrigeration system was then targeted in what appeared to be a similar incident, while a wave of trumped-up bombing charges disrupted dozens of flights across the continent, forcing them to divert and, in some cases, be escorted by fighter jets.

The week culminated in bomb threats aimed at European news organizations, including Britain’s Sky News and Ireland’s public broadcaster RTÉ.

The incident comes against a backdrop of rising geopolitical tensions and domestic unrest across Europe, with civilian infrastructure potentially becoming an increasingly attractive target for hostile forces.

Although authorities have not said who is behind the attacks or whether they are connected, defense and security experts have warned that disruptions to daily services could have repercussions far beyond immediate economic damage.

If Russia is responsible, such an attack could be aimed at demonstrating the cost of continued European support for Ukraine, said Sidharth Kaushal, a researcher at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI).

“I think the issue is one of cost imposition,” Kaushal told CNBC. “To convince Europe’s political leaders that the costs of war could be returned to them.”

Russia did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

On Monday, supermarkets in Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden and the Netherlands were found to have refrigeration systems set to 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit), affecting retailers including Ahold Delhaize, IKEA, Colluit Group and Carrefour.

This follows an October cyber attack that targeted hundreds of supermarkets in France, causing fires, overheating refrigerators and spoiled food. These incidents have highlighted the vulnerability of food supply infrastructure.

It also highlights the role of private enterprise in national resilience, as devices connected to the internet can be misused to cause physical disruption.

Fredrik Blix, a cybersecurity expert at Vicente and an associate professor at Stockholm University, told CNBC that the attack on the supermarket required little sophistication because the vulnerable refrigeration control system was connected directly to the public internet, allowing potential attackers to find and exploit it.

“You don’t really need any special advanced knowledge to carry out these attacks,” he said, adding that some systems were only protected by default passwords or easily guessed credentials.

“This is why this can be done so cheaply,” Brix said, warning that publicity surrounding the incident could encourage copycat attacks. “Anyone can do it, and we don’t need funding from the government.”

Brix said cyberattacks have become more common over the past decade as society becomes more digital and vulnerable systems become easier to access. However, he noted that rising geopolitical tensions have also made European countries more wary of potential hybrid warfare threats, leading to increased scrutiny by both governments and the media.

Blix acknowledged that a state or state-backed organization could be behind the attack, but said the more likely scenario was someone testing boundaries and “having fun”.

Kaushal said the incident should be seen in the larger context of alleged sabotage and hybrid threats across Europe, including damage to undersea cables in the Baltic Sea.

“If this were an isolated incident, you might say, ‘Okay, we should look at it on its own merits,’ but when you put it in the context of all of this, that understanding fades,” he said, also citing death threats against European defense leaders and the 2024 bomb attack on a DHL plane.

European governments are grappling with growing uncertainty over U.S. security after decades of underinvestment in national defense, while facing a growing number of nontraditional but potentially devastating threats.

Hybrid warfare combines tactics such as cyberattacks, sabotage, and disinformation to destabilize an adversary without triggering an open military conflict.

Kaushal said countries’ ability to withstand hybrid threats varies widely across the continent. Although Finland and Sweden have well-developed civil defense programs reflecting their Cold War experience, much of Europe’s infrastructure was built with an eye toward economic efficiency rather than defense needs.

“As Europe moves further west, it has a much lower level of preparedness, not only for hybrid attacks, but also for simple missile attacks like the one we saw in Ukraine,” he said.

“Every attack creates some resilience,” he said, citing NATO’s increased focus on threats to underwater cables and gas pipelines since the 2022 Nord Stream sabotage.

Oana Popescu-Zamfir, a senior researcher specializing in European security at RUSI, said recent events showed Europe was lagging behind in “preparing for what we knew was coming.”

“We have been slow to adapt to the new reality,” she says. “We still tend to conceptually distinguish between peace and wartime, but that’s no longer the case because while we’re not at war, we’re also not in peacetime.”

He said Europe is likely to face sustained hybrid attacks aimed at achieving military objectives without using conventional military force.

Popescu-Zamfir said Russia could use a network of proxies in Europe, some directly controlled and others more loosely regulated, which could make it difficult to trace responsibility directly to the Kremlin.

He told CNBC that a targeted attack on internet-connected systems “would be devastating,” citing the potential for blood reserves to be destroyed.

He said the attack “wouldn’t be easy for Russia to carry out, but it’s also not rocket science,” adding: “It could be very damaging, both in tangible terms and in terms of the psychological impact on our society and the feeling that we’re not protected.”

Blix said companies can take relatively simple steps to reduce risk.

“These are basic cyber hygiene matters… Without proper security, industrial control systems and this type of operational technology should not be allowed to connect directly online,” he said.

Responsibility is shared between product manufacturers, maintenance providers, and grocery chains, each pointing to the responsibility of the other, making accountability unclear.

Brix said maintenance companies may prioritize convenience by allowing remote access despite manufacturers’ security guidance, while retailers may fail to enforce proper cybersecurity standards among their suppliers.

“What worries me is that we’re not actually doing anything,” Blix said, adding that they’re “shuffling a lot of documents” and “doing a lot of risk assessments” but are failing to take meaningful action.

Unrest has also spread in Europe in recent months, adding to political pressure as households struggle with high living costs.

Alexander Anderson, president and policy director of the Center for International Security and Economic Strategy, said domestic political and economic tensions could give foreign adversaries an opportunity to deepen divisions.

He told CNBC that influence operations by Russia and potentially China could work to widen those divisions.

“However, we must be careful not to dismiss legitimate domestic grievances as the product of foreign interference,” he said. “To do so risks misunderstanding both the causes of political instability and the ways in which adversaries seek to exploit it.”

Weeks of nationwide protests, riots and strikes have increased pressure on the French government, complicating efforts to rein in public finances and deepening existing political divisions.

In Spain, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called a snap election after demonstrations over the housing crisis and a deadlock in parliament. Voting is scheduled for November 29th. The far-right Vox party is expected to gain momentum, putting Sanchez’s left-wing government at risk of losing power.

Germany, Italy, Portugal and Albania have also seen concerns over rising living costs in recent weeks.

On Friday, protesters in Amsterdam tried to enter the city. microsoft Data center, according to Reuters.

Meanwhile, soaring energy prices, persistent inflation, slowing growth and large budget deficits are raising borrowing costs and reducing the scope for governments to support struggling households.