Cyberattack on French Supermarket Refrigerators: Fires and Food Spoilage Reported

Cybercriminals who remotely seized control of refrigeration units in hundreds of French supermarkets increased appliance temperatures, triggering fires and spoiling tons of food. Authorities have launched a comprehensive investigation into the incident.

Hundreds of Supermarkets Targeted

At least 350 supermarkets belonging to major chains such as Carrefour, Monoprix, Intermarche, and Cooperative U across France were affected by this unusual cyberattack. In some stores in Paris, staff were seen throwing spoiled meat and frozen products into large garbage dumpsters.

Cybersecurity Agency Launches Investigation

Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu instructed the French National Cybersecurity Agency to investigate the incident. France is working in coordination with its European partners over the possibility that similar risks may exist in other European countries.

Millions of Euros in Damages Incurred

Cooperative U CEO Dominique Schelcher stated that 80 of their stores were affected and financial losses in large hypermarkets reached up to 200,000 euros. Intermarche CEO Thierry Cotillard stated that total losses nationwide could reach tens of millions of euros in a single day.

Vulnerabilities and Danfoss Software

It was determined that the affected refrigerators used software from Danfoss, and many units were running on outdated software that had reached the end of its lifecycle or had not been updated. Experts noted that the attack resulted from device interfaces being left exposed to the internet and updates not being performed.