Hundreds of supermarket fridges and freezers in France have been hit by a cyber-attack, with some appliances heated to temperatures as high as 50C. The attack targeted the software that regulates the temperatures of refrigeration units, spoiling millions of euros' worth of fresh and frozen food.
Attack details and scale
Hackers ordered the units to heat up and stay hot, bypassing the normal overnight defrosting period. Figures supplied by individual chains suggest that about 500 stores were affected out of 15,000 or so in France overall.
Coopérative U CEO Dominique Schelcher confirmed several of its supermarkets were affected by the "extremely serious and unprecedented" attack. He said teams were "fully mobilised" to resolve "the situation as quickly as possible".
Retailers affected
AFP news agency reports that over 100 Coopérative U supermarkets were targeted, and at least 300 Intermarché and Netto. Carrefour, Monoprix and E.Leclerc were also hit. Carrefour said 80 of its 6,000 stores were affected, and Monoprix said 5% of its stores were hit.
Mr Schelcher wrote on X: "Targeting equipment essential to the preservation of fresh products and to the food supply of the French people is of extreme gravity and is unprecedented. It is unacceptable."
Impact and response
The Paris prosecutor's office said the "large-scale" attack resulted in "food losses and fires". Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu put the National Cybersecurity Agency (ANSSI) in charge of investigating the incident. His office said France "was coordinating with its European counterparts, as other countries may also be affected".
Managers who opened up the affected stores this morning were hit by a wave of hot air from the fridges and freezers. Some shops even reported small fires in light of the incident. As a result, many supermarkets had to throw away all affected goods to avoid any health risks. Two supermarkets in the Alsace region reported losses of £228,000 between them alone, French broadcaster BFMTV reports.
