Hackers heat supermarket fridges across France in ‘unprecedented’ cyberattack (VIDEO)

Hackers remotely overheated refrigerators at hundreds of supermarkets across France, destroying tons of fresh and frozen food, according to local media reports and industry executives. The massive cyberattack has left retailers facing millions of euros in losses, with some stores forced to close temporarily.

According to Le Monde, the attack struck overnight into Monday, affecting around 300 Intermarche and Netto stores, 100 Cooperative U outlets, 80 Carrefour supermarkets, 30 Monoprix locations, and several E.Leclerc stores, bringing the estimated total to more than 500.

Apart from supermarkets, the cyberattack affected wholesaler Metro, members of the French meat industry association Culture Viande, and independent butchers may also have been hit.

According to BFM-TV, hackers targeted refrigeration controllers supplied by Danish manufacturer Danfoss, which allow technicians to adjust temperatures remotely. The culprits activated automatic defrosting systems, forcing refrigeration units to heat up in some cases to 50C instead of keeping food cold.

As a result, supermarket employees arrived for work to discover overheated refrigeration units and shelves of food that could no longer be sold. In some cases, hackers extended the defrost cycle from one hour to eight hours so that alarms would go off later, allowing them to maximize the damage.

The exact scale of losses is unclear, but an Intermarche in Haguenau, eastern France, lost around €50,000 ($56,000) worth of frozen food. An E.Leclerc store in nearby Wasselonne had to discard fresh and frozen products valued at €220,000.