Not cool: who hacked France’s supermarket fridges?
Whether it was youngsters proving their skills or state sabotage, Europe’s most hacked country was left with a mountain of waste after food began cooking in freezers Shortly before midnight last Sunday, the digital thermostats controlling hundreds of supermarket cold aisles across France began to flicker and rise. In a “bizarre and unprecedented” cyber-attack, hackers had remotely overridden the…
A cyber-attack left France's supermarket fridges overheating and spoiling millions of pounds worth of food. Shortly before midnight last Sunday, hackers remotely overrode the temperature settings on thousands of freezers and fridges, causing them to rise from -27C to over 50C. The attack affected hundreds of stores across the country, including major chains like Intermarché, Coopérative U, Carrefour, Leclerc and Monoprix.
Workers reported catching hot air from the freezers or noticing the extreme temperatures when they arrived for work the next day. The attack was described as "bizarre and unprecedented," with the Paris public prosecutor's office opening an investigation. Cybersecurity experts suggested the hackers may have been either a group of activists or state-sponsored actors, with Iran and Russia being the most likely suspects.
The attack highlights the outdated security of many supermarket refrigeration units, which were running outdated firmware and had default passwords. France has been identified as the most hacked country in Europe, with numerous high-profile cyber-attacks on various sectors in recent years.
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