Hackers turned off refrigerators in hundreds of supermarkets in France
Stores were forced to throw away spoiled products.
Hackers disable refrigerators at hundreds of supermarkets in France
On the night of October 11, hackers launched a cyberattack on the cooling systems of hundreds of supermarkets in France. The criminals switched the equipment into defrost mode, forcing the stores to throw away spoiled products, Bloomberg reported.
According to a representative of Groupement Mousquetaires, which owns the Intermarché chain, about 150 of the chain's stores were affected. Refrigerators and freezers heated up to 50 degrees Celsius for about six hours, resulting in the spoilage of meat, frozen goods, and vegetables. According to Mousquetaires, these systems were managed by the Danish company Danfoss, and a complaint should be submitted directly to the supplier itself.
Dominique Schelcher, CEO of the Coopérative U chain, announced that the attack also affected his chain, with about one hundred of its stores suffering damage. Additionally, some Leclerc supermarkets were targeted by the hackers. Danfoss stated that it is aware of the incidents in France and is taking measures together with customers to eliminate the consequences.
Danfoss representative Lars Grubak Loff stated that mostly outdated models of cooling system controls, including software systems, were breached.