Hackers Overheat French Supermarket Fridges in Massive Cyber Attack

Cyber attackers breached hundreds of supermarkets across France over the weekend, remotely ramping up thermostats on commercial refrigerators and freezers to a sweltering 122 degrees Fahrenheit. Paris prosecutors have classified the operation as a large-scale attack, which left massive quantities of perishable goods spoiled and sparked fires across multiple locations. Intermarche CEO Thierry Cotillard estimated the resulting damages could reach the tens of millions of euros.

France's National Cybersecurity Agency, ANSSI, launched an immediate investigation into the breach. Officials revealed that early findings point back to a vulnerability at Danish engineering firm Danfoss. In an official statement, Danfoss acknowledged its awareness of incidents in France affecting a limited number of refrigeration management systems, attributing the root cause to outdated firmware.

Major retail groups bore the brunt of the assault. Confirmed targets include Les Mousquetaires, which owns 150 Intermarche stores, around 80 Carrefour locations, approximately 25 Monoprix stores, and Cooperative U. Furthermore, threat intelligence firm Sekoia detected similar malicious activities targeting organizations in Spain, Portugal, Poland, Germany, and Belgium.

Security experts note that operational technology systems are frequently connected to the internet without adequate foundational security. As threat actors increasingly target critical supply chain infrastructure, the number of ransomware and cyber extortion victims forced to halt operations has climbed significantly in recent years.