Europe in turmoil amid a spate of reports of ‘fridge hacking’ and bombs on planes

[Financial News] Europe is in turmoil as reports of explosives aboard passenger planes continue to come in, following the hacking of refrigerators. Fighter jets have even been scrambled, drawing worldwide attention.
On the 5th (local time), according to Italy’s ANSA news agency and other outlets, a report was received that explosives were on board a Finnair flight from Helsinki, Finland, to Rome, Italy.
The passenger plane was escorted by fighter jets scrambled in response and landed normally at Rome Fiumicino Airport. Italian authorities conducted a safety inspection of the plane, but no bomb was found, according to reports.
A bomb report was also received that day concerning an Aer Lingus passenger flight from Dublin, Ireland, to Rome, Italy, prompting the plane to divert to Évreux Air Base in northern France. A total of 151 people, including passengers, were reportedly on board.
A Wizz Air flight from Milan, Italy, to Warsaw, Poland, also received a bomb report that day and urgently changed its route. In Bulgaria, three aircraft departing from Copenhagen, Denmark, Madrid, Spain, and other locations made emergency landings in Sofia and elsewhere because of bomb reports.
Bomb threat reports targeting European passenger planes have continued in recent days, but those behind them have not been identified. On the 3rd, reports of explosives were also received concerning seven European passenger planes, causing disruption as aircraft made emergency landings.
Alongside the bomb threat reports involving European aircraft, incidents of supermarket refrigerator hacking have recently spread across Europe, prompting suspicions that they may be Russian hybrid operations aimed at stoking anxiety in Western societies.
The cyberattacks remotely raised the temperatures of supermarket refrigerators and freezers to as high as 55°C. They are believed to have occurred recently in at least 11 countries, including Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Sweden, Estonia, Ireland, Finland, Italy, Portugal, Germany and the United Kingdom.
[email protected] Yu Seon-jun Reporter