A massive cyberattack has targeted connected refrigeration systems at hundreds of major supermarkets across France. Hackers remotely manipulated the equipment to reach temperatures of 122F, resulting in significant food spoilage and several fires.
The €10 million cost of a 122F defrost cycle
The cyberattack has caused massive ecoomic disruption across the French retail landscape. Experts estimate that the total financial damage could exceed 10 million euros, or roughly $11.2 million. Intermarché CEO Thierry Cotillard noted in a televised interview that the nationwide losses could potentially reach tens of millions of euros in a single day.
This incident signals a shift in the nature of cyber threats, moving from digital data theft to the physical destruction of essential resources. French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu highlighted the gravity of the situation, stating that the "weaponization of food" has become a tangible reality that threatens national food security.
Legacy Danfoss firmware left supermarket doors open
The technical breach appears to have exploited vulnerabilities in the hardware used by major retailers. As reported by Fox News Digital, the hackers achieved their goal by triggering a continuous defrost cycle on the connected units. The affected equipment was manufactured by the Danish company Danfoss.
While Danfoss stated that many of the impacted units were legacy products that no longer receive security updates,the company had previously advised customers to update their firmware. france's National Cybersecurity Agency (ANSSI) has already identified a specific software vulnerability linked to the Danish vendor and is working to secure the remaining infrastructure.
Hundreds of stores from Carrefour to Cooperative U hit
The scale of the disruption spans several of France's most prominent grocery chains. The attack impacted approximately 300 Intermarché and Netto loctaions, as well as 100 Cooperative U stores. Other affected retailers include Carrefour, which reported roughly 80 impacted stores, and Monoprix, which saw about 5% of its 490 locations compromised.
Les Mousquetaires also reported significant damage, with fridges at approximately 150 stores being heated to 50C (122F) for a six-hour period. In all affected locations, retailers have been forced to discard all fresh food products to ensure consumer safety.
The mystery of the 11 p.m. midnight sabotage
Several critical questions remain regarding the identity and motive of the attackers. While Intermarché owner Charles Dezon suggested the attack likely began around 11 p.m., the breach was not discovered until 4 a.m. when a delivery driver found a flooded storeroom. According to the Paris prosecutor's office, a formal cybercrime investigation is now underway.
It remains unknown who is responsible for the coordinated heating of these systems, or if the attack was a targeted strike by a nation-state or a criminal group seeking chaos. Additionally, investigators have yet to confirm if the hackers specifically exploited the Danfoss firmware vulnerability or if they used a different entry point to trigger the temperature spikes.
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