A major cyberattack targeting supermarket refrigeration systems across France has caused temperatures in fridges and freezers to soar to 50°C, destroying stocks of perishable food and triggering fires at some stores. Several leading retail chains confirmed the incident on Monday, describing it as an unprecedented attack.
At least 300 Intermarche and Netto stores, along with more than 100 Cooperative U outlets, were affected, Aljazeera reported quoting retailers. Carrefour reported disruptions at 80 supermarkets, while Monoprix said around five per cent of its nearly 490 stores had been hit. E Leclerc also confirmed that several of its outlets were targeted.
The Paris prosecutor’s office said the large-scale cyberattack had compromised connected refrigeration systems at several major food retailers across the country. The incident resulted in substantial food wastage and fires at some locations.
Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu has directed France’s National Cybersecurity Agency (ANSSI) to investigate the attack, according to a source in his office cited by Reuters. French authorities are also coordinating with their European counterparts to determine whether the incident has affected other countries and assess potential risks to additional French businesses.
Hackers Allegedly Triggered Remote Defrosting
The attack reportedly involved hackers remotely activating the forced-defrost function in refrigeration systems at numerous supermarkets. According to French broadcaster BFM TV, this caused fresh and frozen food stocks to be destroyed.
Intermarche said stores affected by the incident would have to discard all fresh and frozen products. The financial impact could run into tens of millions of euros nationwide in a single day, Intermarche CEO Thierry Cotillard told BFM TV, although an industry-wide loss estimate was not immediately available.
Dominique Schelcher, chief executive of Cooperative U, said the disruption to refrigeration systems began on Sunday night. In a post on X, he described the targeting of equipment crucial to preserving fresh food and maintaining the country’s food supply as serious, unprecedented and unacceptable.
He added that the company’s teams were working to restore normal operations and that a thorough investigation was necessary to establish the full circumstances of the attack.
Outdated Software Under Scrutiny
The incident has raised concerns about the security of connected refrigeration systems, which are commonly managed through control panels that regulate fridges and freezers across entire supermarkets. Internet connectivity allows maintenance providers to monitor and adjust these systems remotely, but can also expose them to cyber risks.
According to the source close to Lecornu, ANSSI identified a vulnerability in software supplied by Danish company Danfoss.
Danfoss said it was aware of incidents in France involving a limited number of refrigeration management systems. The affected units were running outdated firmware, the company said, adding that it had long advised customers to install updates and replace older equipment.
The attack followed research published by cybersecurity firm Claroty on August 9, which highlighted vulnerabilities in Danfoss systems that could potentially allow attackers to bypass authentication.
France’s retail federation, the FCD, has called on Danfoss to provide full transparency over the incident. It also said some affected supermarkets had resumed operations.
Felix Aime, a senior cyberthreat intelligence analyst at Sekoia Threat Detection and Research, told Reuters that Spain, Portugal, Poland, Germany and Belgium had also been affected.
The incident bears similarities to disruptions reported in late August at around a dozen US military commissaries, where refrigeration problems resulted in food losses.
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