Hackers Raise Supermarket Refrigerators to 50 Degrees, Hitting Hundreds of Stores in France

A cyberattack that raised the temperatures of refrigerators up to 50 degrees Celsius at multiple supermarket chains across France has damaged hundreds of stores.

According to AFP and Reuters, the Paris public prosecutor's office announced on the 12th (local time) that several major food retailers across France were hit by the large-scale attack.

Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu also ordered the National Cybersecurity Agency of France (ANSSI) to launch an investigation.

Carrefour stated that 80 stores were affected, while Monoprix reported that 5 percent of its total 490 stores were impacted.

Les Mousquetaires, which operates the Intermarche chain, said hackers raised the temperatures of refrigerators in their systems up to 50 degrees Celsius overnight, and that all food affected due to health risks has been discarded.

About 300 stores of Intermarche and its affiliated supermarket chain Netto were targeted.

U Enseigne (Cooperative U) also saw around 100 stores hit.

Dominique Schelcher, CEO of the company, wrote on X (formerly Twitter), "Targeting equipment essential for the preservation of fresh food and the food supply of the French people is extremely serious and unprecedented."

Les Mousquetaires stated that their system management provider is Danfoss, a Danish refrigeration company.

Danfoss said it is "aware of the situation in France" and is cooperating with clients to mitigate the damage.

A company spokesperson told Bloomberg that the affected products were older models that no longer receive software and security updates.

An official from the French Prime Minister's office told Reuters that authorities are cooperating with other European countries as there is a possibility that damage has also occurred elsewhere in Europe.

Felix Aime, a senior cyber threat intelligence analyst at Sekoia, said Spain, Portugal, Poland, Germany, and Belgium also appear to have been affected.

Christophe Hansen, the European Union Commissioner for Agriculture and Food, condemned the attack on social media, writing, "The weaponization of food is now a reality. Food security requires more attention at all levels."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.