Cyber attack on supermarket refrigeration units – Security Police does not rule out state actor
Extensive cyber attacks have targeted refrigeration units in supermarkets in Estonia, Sweden and Belgium. According to the Security Police, a state actor cannot be ruled out.
Supermarket refrigeration units targeted in cyber attack – state actor possible
Ilta-Sanomat reported on Monday of extensive cyber attacks targeting refrigeration units in supermarkets in Estonia, Sweden and Belgium. According to the Cyber Security Centre, several hits have also been detected in Finland.
Veli-Pekka Kivimäki, Senior Inspector at the Security Police, states that a state actor cannot be ruled out as being behind the attack.
– I am not going to speculate about this particular case. It cannot be ruled out that there could be a state actor behind it, Kivimäki says.
According to Kivimäki, state actors – including China and Russia – are increasingly focusing attention on Western critical infrastructure systems, and the same applies to Finland.
– State actors are active and interested in these critical infrastructure targets. In Finland, critical infrastructure systems are scanned in the cyber domain, meaning they are subject to that kind of interest, he continues.
Kivimäki emphasises that "scanning" targets does not necessarily mean preparing for an attack, but rather that targets may be exploited at some point.
Attack from abroad could affect Finland
The Senior Inspector points out that in the current digital environment, the actual target of an attack does not need to be in Finland.
– Some services may be provided from another European country, and there are connections from Finland to these services. A serious cyber attack occurring elsewhere could affect everyday life in Finland as well.
A cyber attack could disable multiple production facilities or shops simultaneously, which could also disrupt the operations of professional kitchens and wholesale trade.
National risk assessment mentions supermarkets as threat
The national risk assessment published on Monday identifies a cyber attack targeting supermarkets as one concrete threat.
– One threat is a large-scale cyber attack and its impact on the functioning of food production, retail, and payment and logistics systems, the assessment published by the Ministry of the Interior states.
According to the risk assessment, deliberate sabotage is also possible. Cyber attacks are mentioned in the report as one cross-cutting risk.
Jussi Korhonen, Preparedness Director at the Ministry of the Interior, stated at Monday's press conference that such a scenario is "quite possible".
– It could target a wide range of different operators, Korhonen said.
Source: Ilta-Sanomat