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Learning English from the News

Upper intermediate level

Cyber-attacks on shops

Episode 261104 / 04 Nov 2026

(Photo by Wiktor Dabkowski/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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The story

Just weeks after hundreds of grocery stores in France were hit by cyber-attacks, shops in Belgium, Sweden, Ireland, Luxembourg and Estonia have also been attacked.

The attacks, which increased temperatures in fridges and freezers across Europe, have forced stores to throw away lots of food. In some cases, fridges in stores got to 50C, and some supermarkets in France have experienced fires. 

Since these attacks on fridges and freezers, people are concerned about how much we use or rely on things that are connected to the internet that could potentially be controlled and hackers. 

News headlines 

Britain on alert as hackers shut down supermarket fridges across Europe 
The Telegraph

Another cyberattack on supermarket fridges sweeps Europe, leaving food spoiled
CBC

If hackers can take control of a supermarket freezer, how vulnerable is other tech?
BBC News

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Key words and phrases

on alert
watchful, attentive, and prepared

  • Drivers need to be on alert for slippery roads in winter.

spoiled
gone bad

  • I don’t think I should cook with this chicken, it’s got a bad smell. I think it’s spoiled.

vulnerable
open to being hurt, attacked, or damaged

  • Her house is really close to a river, so it’s vulnerable to flooding.

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