Fridges in French supermarkets hit by cyber attack

A major cyber attack on refrigeration equipment has disrupted hundreds of French grocery stores, leading to the spoilage of massive volumes of fresh and frozen items valued in the millions of euros.

According to reports by the BBC, the overnight intrusion compromised temperature-control software, commanding cooling systems to warm up instead of chilling. In some locations, retail units climbed as high as 50 degrees Celsius (120 degrees Fahrenheit) and remained hot for hours, ruining food inventories and in certain cases causing small fires.

The security breach specifically targeted systems made by Danfoss, an engineering business based in Denmark that supplies remote monitoring software for industrial cooling. The manufacturer explained that the impacted chillers were outdated models unable to receive modern protective security updates, noting it has consistently urged clients to run supported equipment. Danfoss has not verified the exact maximum temperatures reached by the compromised units.

Prosecutors in Paris have initiated a specialized cyber-crime inquiry to examine what they termed an extensive assault across several national grocery networks. Approximately 400 branches out of France's estimated 15,000 stores suffered impacts, based on data released by individual retailers.

Among those affected was the Mousquetaires Group, which includes Intermarché and Netto. The group reported that 180 of its locations were hit, while roughly 100 additional branches were rapidly disconnected from web access to avoid contamination. Intermarché noted that food held at elevated temperatures was discarded immediately to prevent public health hazards.

Other prominent supermarket operators reported disruptions across parts of their operations, including Coopérative U, Carrefour, Monoprix and E.Leclerc. Coopérative U confirmed more than 100 affected stores, with its chief executive Dominique Schelcher describing the disruption as an unacceptable strike against crucial components of the food distribution chain. Carrefour noted that roughly 80 of its 6,000 outlets were hit, and Monoprix said around 5% of its sites were affected.

Broadcaster BFMTV reported that a pair of stores situated in Alsace recorded combined damages reaching 270,000 euros, suggesting financial losses across the entire country will likely reach millions of euros once all destroyed stock is tallied.

The incident has drawn condemnation from European authorities. Christophe Hansen, the European Food Commissioner, emphasized that modern food supply chains demand heightened safeguards, warning that the disruption of essential food infrastructure has emerged as an active threat. Staff at affected supermarkets have been working alongside refrigeration technicians to bring cooling units back online and replenish empty display cases.