Cyberattack hits hundreds of supermarkets in France — Daily Maverick

In France, a cyberattack affected internet-connected refrigerators and freezers at several major retail chains. The Paris prosecutor’s office said the large-scale attack led to food spoilage and fires. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu instructed France’s National Agency for the Security of Information Systems (ANSSI) to investigate the incident, Daily Maverick reports.

Major retail chains affected

Carrefour reported that 80 supermarkets were affected. At Monoprix, which has around 490 stores in France, the incident affected 5% of outlets. The Les Mousquetaires group, which owns Intermarché, said that in about 150 of its stores, the temperature of refrigeration equipment was raised to 50 degrees Celsius overnight for six hours.

All products from the affected Intermarché refrigerators were disposed of to eliminate health risks. A witness in Paris saw store workers taking carts of thawed frozen products to a large waste container. Dominique Schelcher, head of Cooperative U, also reported the attack.

Intermarché CEO Thierry Cotillard said the attack could cause losses of tens of millions of euros across the country in a single day. The French Trade and Distribution Association called on Danish company Danfoss to ensure full transparency regarding the event; some stores have already resumed operations.

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Reports of a Danfoss vulnerability

According to a source close to Lecornu’s office, ANSSI identified a vulnerability in Danfoss software. The company confirmed that it was aware of incidents in France affecting a limited number of refrigeration equipment control systems. Danfoss said these systems were running outdated firmware and advised customers to update supported devices.

According to a source in the prime minister’s office, France is coordinating actions with European partners, as the incident may also have affected other countries. Félix Aimé, an analyst at Sekoia Threat Detection and Research, said Spain, Portugal, Poland, Germany and Belgium were also affected.

Separately, Dutch company Ahold Delhaize reported a security issue in its network and shut down some systems. A message appeared in the Albert Heijn app stating that groceries could not be delivered because of a cyber incident, while physical stores continued operating. The company said it saw no grounds to link this case to the incidents in France.