Cybersecurity experts believe the attack on French supermarkets on the night of 12 September, which destroyed a large quantity of food, is a warning sign for Estonia, ERR News reports.
The perpetrators gained access to temperature control systems and raised refrigerators and freezers to 50 degrees Celsius. A large amount of food spoiled, causing significant financial losses. Estonia, too, must be prepared for such threats.
Toomas Lepik, a cybersecurity analyst at Tallinn University of Technology, said such incidents are possible and the threat is very real. Estonia has not yet encountered problems of the kind seen in France, but that does not mean an event could not occur because of a mistake or lax adherence to cybersecurity protocols.
Minister of Justice Liisa Pakosta, who is attending a cybersecurity conference in Singapore, described the incident in France as shocking. She said society must adapt to a new reality in which cyberattacks no longer affect only computers and information systems. She also stressed that Estonia adheres to some of the strictest cybersecurity regulations in the world. Companies providing essential services, including those involved in food security, are subject to stringent requirements that must be met.
Regular audits are conducted at major companies responsible for food security. Those requirements do not apply to all grocery stores. Pakosta said both the government and businesses need to invest more in cybersecurity. Estonia faces financially motivated cyberattacks as well as attacks aimed at the state and society as a whole. As a digital nation, it must pay greater attention to the issue.
The Estonian supermarket chain Selver is closely monitoring events in France to prevent similar situations in its own stores. It is currently unknown who orchestrated the attack on the French stores or whether a ransom will be demanded. Communications manager Mariann Järvela confirmed that Selver has not faced such attacks and is doing everything possible to prevent one. She said every company and retail chain has its own strict protocols and systems, and that overall Selver is well protected against such threats.
Järvela added that the consequences of the incident in France do not differ significantly from those of a power outage, a scenario for which the chain already conducts training exercises.
Source: Baltic News Network
Estonia cybersecurity · French supermarket cyberattack · Tallinn University of Technology · Liisa Pakosta · Selver food security · fridge temperature attack