Hackers hit France’s supermarket refrigerators, forcing hundreds of affected stores to throw out food

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Hackers have targeted the fridges and freezers of hundreds of supermarkets across France Sunday night, cranking the temperatures up remotely and forcing the retailers to throw out spoiled frozen products.

The massive cyberattack affected “connected refrigerators ⁠in several ​major food retailers across France,” the Paris prosecutor’s office said on Monday, per Reuters.

Hackers reportedly hijacked the refrigeration units’ defrost function, setting the temperature to 50C.

Major French grocery chain Intermarche and retailer Cooperative U were hit by the cyberattack.

A spokesperson for Les Mousquetaires, the owner of Intermarche, told Reuters that about 150 stores were affected, with fridges heating up to 50C for six hours.

Cooperative ‌U CEO Dominique Schelcher confirmed the cyberattack in a post on X Monday, stating that its staff was working with refrigeration specialists to get the fridges running back to normal as soon as possible.

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Attack ‘unacceptable’

“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,” Schelcher said.

Both retailers told BFMTV that the hackers targeted the refrigeration control systems of Danish manufacturer Danfoss.

France’s largest supermarket chain E Leclerc also confirmed to BFMTV that several of its stores were also affected.

The office of French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu told Reuters that he has asked the country’s cybersecurity agency ANSSI to investigate the incident.

In a post on X Monday, European Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Christophe Hansen condemned the attack, writing, “Food security requires more attention at all levels. Because the weaponization of food has become a reality.”

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