Cyber attack causes food spoilage in French supermarkets
A large-scale cyber attack targeted refrigeration software provided by Danfoss, forcing units to heat up to 50C overnight. This caused widespread food spoilage and small fires across several major French retail chains.
What happened
- Earlier
Hackers accessed refrigeration software to force units to heat up and stay hot overnight [1].
- 12 Oct, Morning
Store managers found freezers emitting hot air; some locations reported small fires [1].
- 12 Oct, Afternoon
French prosecutors opened a cyber-crime investigation as stores worked to remove spoiled food and restock [1].
What you need to know
Affected stores include Intermarché, Netto, Coopérative U, Carrefour, Monoprix, and E.Leclerc [1].
The attack targeted older Danfoss software that could not be updated to fix a known security risk [1].
Retailers discarded affected food to prevent health and sanitary risks [1], [2].
Approximately 500 stores in France were impacted out of roughly 15,000 [1].
It is not yet confirmed if a security issue at Dutch company Ahold Delhaize is linked to the French attack [2].
Background
The attack exploited software used by retailers to manage cold units remotely. While freezers normally have short defrost cycles, hackers forced these units to reach 50C (122F) for several hours [1], [2].
The incident has raised concerns about food security and the vulnerability of critical infrastructure to hybrid attacks [1], [2].
Questions people ask
How much food was lost?
While a total is not confirmed, two stores in one region alone lost €270,000, suggesting nationwide losses reach millions of euros [1].
Which company provided the software?
The software was provided by the Danish engineering firm Danfoss [1].
Where this came from
Found through Google Trends and drafted with AI from at least two cited sources. Published automatically after passing our automated checks for sources, wording and safety. It may not have been reviewed by a person yet. Report a correction.