PARIS: Hackers raised refrigerator temperatures to 50°C overnight at hundreds of French supermarkets, causing food losses and reported fires, the Paris prosecutor’s office confirmed on Monday.
The attack targeted connected refrigeration systems at major food retailers across France. Prosecutors opened an investigation into the damage and its connection to the cyberattack.
Les Mousquetaires, which owns Intermarché, reported that approximately 150 stores had suffered disruptions. Attackers kept refrigeration temperatures at 50°C for six hours, forcing the retailer to discard affected food stocks to protect consumers.
Meanwhile, Carrefour confirmed that hackers targeted 80 supermarkets. However, most of its approximately 6,000 stores remained unaffected. Cooperatives U also confirmed an attack on its refrigeration equipment.
Its chief executive, Dominique Schelcher, condemned the targeting of systems essential for preserving fresh food and maintaining supplies.
French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu instructed the National Cybersecurity Agency of France (ANSSI) to investigate the incident.
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Authorities are coordinating with European counterparts because other countries may face similar threats. They are examining whether additional French businesses remain vulnerable.
Investigators identified a possible weakness in refrigeration management software supplied by Danish manufacturer Danfoss, according to a source close to the prime minister.
Danfoss acknowledged incidents affecting a limited number of its refrigeration management systems. It confirmed that the affected equipment used outdated firmware.
Separately, Dutch supermarket operator Ahold Delhaize reported a network security incident and temporarily disabled several systems.
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The disruption affected grocery deliveries at Albert Heijn, while websites belonging to US chains Stop & Shop, Giant, Hannaford and Food Lion experienced outages. Ahold Delhaize said its physical stores remained open.
However, investigators had not established whether the Dutch retailer’s security incident was connected to the attacks in France.
Hackers raised refrigeration temperatures to 50°C at hundreds of French supermarkets, causing food losses and reported fires while French authorities investigated the attack.
