Technology and Scienceupdated 1h ago2 min read
Hackers Heat French Supermarket Fridges Up To 50C, Spoiling Food Worth Millions
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Hundreds of French supermarkets hit; refrigeration systems remotely defrosted, spoiling millions worth of food. Temperature raised to 50°C in some stores, causing fresh and frozen goods destruction.
Fridges forced to heat
Hundreds of French supermarkets were hit by a cyberattack that caused their fridges and freezers to heat up, spoiling fresh and frozen food estimated to be worth millions of euros. Hackers gained control of the software that regulates the temperatures of the refrigeration units, forcing some to warm to 50C (120F) overnight. Coopérative U chief executive Dominique Schelcher said staff were "fully mobilised, in co-ordination with refrigeration specialists, to restore the situation as quickly as possible."
Danfoss said the affected cold units were older models whose security software could not be updated to ward off a risk it had identified. The Paris prosecutor's office opened a specific cyber-crime investigation into the incident, which the Paris prosecutor's office called a "large-scale cyber-attack affecting the refrigerators of several major food retail chains across France."
Stores discard food
Intermarché said its fridges had heated up to 50C for six hours overnight into Monday, and the retailer threw away all the affected food to avoid health risks, the Reuters news agency reported. Mousquetaires Group said some fresh and frozen food display units remained out of service on Monday afternoon, and it said the stores had "taken all necessary precautions to remove the products from these units". BFMTV published an image showing a freezer in an ice cream aisle displaying a temperature of 26.5C.
The Paris prosecutor's office confirmed the cyberattack and said it was "affecting connected refrigerators in several major food retailers across France", leading to food losses and fires. Coopérative U described the attack as "extremely serious and unprecedented" and said more than 100 of the chain's supermarkets were targeted.
Investigation and vulnerabilities
The cyberattack targeted software provided by Danish engineering firm Danfoss, and the software allows retailers to manage their cold units remotely. Danfoss said the affected cold units were older models whose security software could not be updated to ward off a risk they had identified, and the company said the compromised installations were older models that "no longer receive software or security updates". The Paris prosecutor's office said its investigation would identify the victims and establish the link with the damage reported by retailers in terms of "loss of foodstuffs" and the triggering of fire alarms.
ANSSI identified a vulnerability in software supplied by a Danish company and contacted the editor, and the BFMTV report said it was linked with European counterparts. Coopérative U CEO Dominique Schelcher called the targeting of essential equipment "unacceptable" and said the attack was "extremely serious and unprecedented" on X.