French supermarkets hit by cyberattack on refrigeration

Hundreds of supermarkets across France were struck by an unusual cyberattack that destroyed large quantities of food and caused financial losses estimated in the millions of euros. Several of the country's largest food retail chains were hit, and the incident has raised concerns that other critical operational systems may be vulnerable to similar attacks.

According to reports in French and international media, the attack took place overnight between Sunday and Monday, when hackers remotely seized control of refrigeration systems in hundreds of branches. Rather than targeting cash registers or customer databases directly, they disrupted temperature-control systems, causing abnormal heat spikes in refrigerators and freezers.

In some locations, temperatures reached around 50 degrees Celsius, and in one case a temperature of approximately 80 degrees was reported in damaged equipment. The heat caused damage to the equipment itself, and in some stores fire-suppression systems were activated. Employees who arrived at branches in the morning hours were forced to deal with refrigerators that had stopped functioning and large quantities of spoiled products.

Refrigerators in France after the attack (Photo: Social media)

According to the reports, around 300 branches of the Intermarché chain and the Netto chain, both owned by the same retail group, were affected, alongside some 100 branches of Coopérative U, approximately 80 Carrefour branches, several Leclerc branches, and around 30 Monoprix stores.

The total financial damage has not yet been precisely assessed, but estimates suggest it could reach millions of euros and possibly tens of millions. At one affected branch, a loss of merchandise valued at approximately 21,000 euros at purchase prices was reported. Stores were forced to clear out fresh and frozen food products to prevent their sale after refrigeration was compromised, and in some locations operations were temporarily halted.

Paris police have opened an investigation, and France's national cyber authority is involved in examining the incident. Authorities are also looking into the possibility that this could affect additional businesses, and that other European countries may face similar threats.