Hundreds of French supermarkets have been impacted by a cyber attack that caused their fridges and freezers to heat up, spoiling fresh and frozen food estimated to be worth millions of euros. Hackers reportedly gained control of the software regulating the temperatures of the refrigeration units, forcing some to warm to 50°C (120°F) overnight.
Attack Details
The chief executive of Coopérative U stated that several of its supermarkets were affected by this "extremely serious and unprecedented" attack. More than 100 of the chain's supermarkets were targeted, while at least 300 stores from Intermarché and its Netto brand were also impacted, according to the AFP news agency.
Intermarché reported that its fridges had heated up to 50°C for six hours overnight into Monday, leading the retailer to discard all affected food to avoid health risks, as reported by Reuters. Staff at some supermarkets experienced waves of hot air when opening freezer units on Monday morning. An image published by BFMTV showed a freezer in an ice cream aisle displaying a temperature of 26.5°C.
