CYBERATTACK RAISES FRENCH SUPERMARKET FRIDGE TEMPERATURES TO 50C

Hackers carried out a cyberattack on refrigeration systems at more than 150 supermarkets across France, remotely altering fridge temperatures overnight, according to reports. The attack compromised cold-chain control software across the Intermarché, E.Leclerc and Coopérative U (Super U) store networks. Rather than switching the units off, the attackers reprogrammed cooling regulators to run a continuous defrost cycle, pushing temperatures up to 50C, and one report said the attack also sparked fires at some sites. Store staff arriving on Monday morning found vast quantities of fresh produce, meat, dairy and frozen goods had spoiled, with the damage estimated at millions of euros.

Dominique Schelcher, who heads Coopérative U, confirmed his network was among those affected and said technical teams were working with specialists to restore normal operations. At one Intermarché store and one E.Leclerc store in Haguenau, eastern France, combined stock losses were estimated at €270,000, or about £225,000, according to a regional news outlet. Security experts said the hackers exploited vulnerabilities in remote management software made by cooling systems manufacturer Danfoss, used to monitor and adjust refrigeration units remotely. Individual stores have reported severe losses to stock as a result of the spoilage.

The attack is the latest in a series of cyberattacks to target French infrastructure and supply chains. In August, hackers breached internal systems at France's tax agency, compromising income and property records belonging to 678,000 taxpayers and businesses, according to reports. In early 2024, cybercriminals compromised payment processors Viamedis and Almerys, exposing data belonging to 33 million healthcare policyholders and forcing pharmacies nationwide to revert to manual processing. Taken together, the incidents point to continuing vulnerabilities in third-party software used across French supply chains.