Cyberattack on European freezers: Legal comment
Refrigeration systems in supermarkets across seven European countries have been targeted in a cyberattack, causing millions of euros worth of food to spoil.
Philip James, Partner and Co-head of International Data, Privacy & Cybersecurity Group at Browne Jacobson, commented: “The weaknesses recently exposed in the grocery supply chain, and the run of freezer incidents, are exactly the kinds of risks EU and UK regulators are now tackling. Many of these risks come from connected devices, cloud systems and outsourced IT services. New laws aimed at them include the EU’s NIS2 Directive, Cyber Resilience Act and Critical Entities Resilience Directive, as well as the UK’s PSTI regulations and the proposed Cyber Security and Resilience Bill.”
“This mirrors the risks that the introduction of EU Digital Operational Resilience (DORA) which is aimed at supply chain resilience risk in financial services, but is quite a bit more embedded and mature.
“Retail, food and consumer businesses are now on that same journey; they’re mapping where they’re exposed and who they depend on, and we’re seeing a growing number of clients ask for help reshaping their risk and compliance processes. That’s both to tackle the threats themselves and to keep pace with what has become a significant, overlapping body of cyber regulation.”
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Felicity Spencer-Smith
PR & Communications Manager
felicity.spencer-smith@brownejacobson.com
+44 (0)3300451376
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