Imagine opening your freezer to find everything melted.
Now imagine that happening across hundreds of supermarkets because hackers turned up the temperature remotely.
French retailers faced that nightmare overnight as a large-scale cyberattack pushed some refrigerators and freezers to 50°C (122°F), spoiling food and reportedly causing fires.
Carrefour said 80 stores were affected, while Intermarche’s parent company, Les Mousquetaires, reported problems at around 150 locations.
All affected food was discarded to protect consumers.
And industry losses could reach “tens of millions of euros nationwide in a single day,” Intermarche CEO Thierry Cotillard told BFM TV.
So how could hackers control supermarket freezers?
Many stores use internet-connected systems that allow technicians to manage refrigeration remotely.
French authorities identified a vulnerability involving equipment made by Danish company Danfoss.
The company said affected systems were running outdated firmware, urging customers to keep their software updated.
Cyber Risks To Food Security
France has launched an investigation and is coordinating with European counterparts as reports suggest other countries may also have been affected.
Meanwhile, Dutch retail giant Ahold Delhaize reported a separate “security issue” and temporarily took some systems offline.
Websites for its US supermarket chains also displayed outage notices, though the company said there was no reason to link the incidents.
As some French stores work to resume normal operations.
The attack highlights a bigger problem: when essential equipment connects to the internet, even a supermarket freezer can become a target.
How secure is the technology keeping our food safe?
