Cyber attack on French supermarket fridges raises alarm over food security

French supermarkets were the targets of a significant cyberattack on Sunday, October 11th, as reported by news outlets. Hackers manipulated the cooling systems of refrigerators, raising temperatures to a dangerous 50 degrees Celsius, leading to food wastage and fires. The attack impacted approximately 150-200 Intermarché stores, owned by Groupement Mousquetaires, along with 80 Coopérative U outlets and around 80 Carrefour supermarkets.

Additionally, E. Leclerc, France's largest supermarket chain, and Monoprix, with about 5% of its 490-plus stores affected, were also impacted. Paris prosecutors have opened an investigation into this "large-scale cyberattack" affecting cold rooms of major food retail chains across France, aiming to identify victims and establish a connection between the reported damage and the cyber incident.

Coopérative U CEO Dominique Schelcher stated in a translated post on X that targeting essential equipment like refrigerators is "extremely serious and unprecedented." The Paris prosecutor's office confirmed the attacks, and Danfoss, a Danish refrigeration firm managing Mousquetaires' cooling systems, is collaborating with its customers to resolve the issue.

The company highlighted that many of the affected systems are outdated and no longer receive updates. France's cybersecurity agency is in contact with European counterparts, as other countries might also be affected, given previous vulnerabilities identified in the software supplied by a Danish company. This attack follows a string of cyberattacks disrupting public and private services in several European countries, including Japan, Spain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, and Italy.