Hundreds of French Supermarket Freezers Hit by Cyber Attack

Hackers turned up the heat in more than 300 supermarket freezers and refrigerators, destroying up to $11.2 million in temperature-sensitive products.

The attacks targeted systems made by Danfoss, a Danish refrigeration company. "Some 300 shops from the Intermarché and Netto chains were affected, as well as 80 from Coopérative U," according to the New York Times.

French grocer Les Mousquetaires said hackers affected at least 150 of its stores by raising freezer temperatures to more than 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Danfoss claims most affected systems were "legacy products that no longer receive software or security updates," Fox News reports.

Christophe Hansen, the European Union's commissioner for agriculture and food, denounced the attack.

"I strongly condemn the cyberattack targeting food products at Intermarche, Cooperative U, Leclerc. Food security requires more attention at all levels. Because the weaponization of food has become a reality," he said in a Monday post on X.

As of this writing, no person or group has claimed responsibility.

Dominique Schelcher, CEO of Coopérative U, a retail group structured as a cooperative of independently owned businesses, confirmed the cyberattack on several of the cooperative's stores, saying, "Our teams are fully mobilized, in coordination with refrigeration specialists, to restore the situation as quickly as possible. An investigation will be necessary to shed full light on this attack. Targeting equipment essential to the preservation of fresh products and to the food supply of the French people is of extreme gravity and is unprecedented. It is unacceptable." 

“They’re attacking the French people’s food supply,” he told RTL radio. “In my entire professional career, I’ve never seen anything like this.”

 A small supermarket in northern rural France suffered a total loss. Manager Julien Fréret told Reuters, “We never thought we’d see this in our rural setting,” he said, adding: “Don’t bother going to our shop today because we have to put it all in the rubbish.”

A spokesperson for Danfoss told the New York Times, “Danfoss has long advised customers to keep supported systems updated with the latest firmware," adding that the company was “in close contact with affected customers to support them in addressing the situation.”

Les Mousquetaires, owner of Intermarché and Netto, said products were removed from the impacted stores’ fridges as quickly as possible and operations were “gradually” returning to normal. 

Financial Times:

The cyber crime unit of the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office said it has initiated an investigation — exercising its national jurisdiction — into the attack. 

Countries around the world have become increasingly concerned about the potential consequences of cyber attacks on connected systems and critical infrastructure. 

French President Emmanuel Macron in September ordered a heightened level of vigilance against cyber attacks, after warning about the increased risk of Russian “hybrid” attacks in Europe. 

On Tuesday, Schelcher emphasized that only “a small minority” of Coopérative U’s stores were affected and that very little food was ruined, as staff in many cases intervened to stabilize the equipment.

Welcome to the future. Please fasten your seat belts and hang on for dear life. You're going to get rocked from here on out.

The hackers probably didn't even need AI to penetrate these ridiculously easy systems. Ciaran Martin, former chief executive of the UK National Cyber Security Centre, described the attack as “one of the oddest cyber events” he had ever seen. 

“The essence of ransomware and criminality is that you extract money to prevent something from happening, but they’ve already done their worst, and there is no evidence of any [ransom] demand,” Martin said.

"Although the precise mechanism by which attackers compromised the refrigerators has not been publicly disclosed, cybersecurity experts said all signs pointed to a basic stunt enabled both by the failure to adopt Danfoss’ updates and by exposing device interfaces to the internet," reports NBC News.

They weren't after money or bitcoin. My guess is that this was a test for another planned attack, much larger and perhaps encompassing the entire Euro-bloc.

Or, it was a bunch of kids exploiting an "open door"  that companies decided not to close.

“This is about basic cyber hygiene,” said Ken Munro, a partner at the British cybersecurity firm Pen Test Partners. “Get it wrong, and you get a smelly mess of defrosted food.”

Cybercriminals are growing bolder. In August, Iranian hackers hit about 30 municipal water stations in Minnesota, according to U.S. and water industry officials in the state. President Donald Trump has denied that Iran was behind the attack.

Editor's Note: President Trump is leading America into the "Golden Age" as Democrats desperately try to stop it.  

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