French supermarket chains say cyberattack forced refrigerator shutdown

French supermarket chains Intermarché and Cooperative U reported being hit by a cyberattack that caused their refrigerators to defrost, according to The Local France. Euro Weekly News reports that the attack began overnight on Sunday, October 11, and has reportedly affected at least 150 French supermarkets. While The Local France only names Intermarché and Cooperative U, Euro Weekly News also names Leclerc and Carrefour as brands involved.

According to Euro Weekly News, hackers accessed systems controlling refrigeration equipment and altered settings, which reportedly caused temperatures in some units to soar to 50ºC. This disruption of the cold chain put meat, fish, dairy products, and prepared meals at risk, potentially forcing stores to destroy large quantities of fresh food. The incident could result in financial damages totaling millions of euros due to the cost of discarded stock and system repairs.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Local France, Euro Weekly News — 2 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.