A cyberattack targeting internet-connected refrigeration systems disrupted supermarkets in France and five other European countries, with hackers reportedly switching fridges and freezers into defrost mode and raising temperatures as high as 50 degrees Celsius. French media said the malfunction caused large quantities of fresh and frozen food to spoil. Reports differ on the scale of the incident in France, with one account saying more than 480 stores were affected and another putting the number at 150 supermarkets, including outlets of the French chain Intermarché.
Refrigeration systems targeted
The attack focused on smart refrigeration equipment connected to the internet, according to reports by French media cited by RatoPati. Rather than physically damaging the appliances, the hackers reportedly changed their operating mode. The units were placed in a defrosting setting, allowing their internal temperatures to rise and undermining their ability to keep food cold.
Temperatures were reported to have reached as high as 50°C. That is the highest figure cited in the available accounts, which describe both refrigeration and freezer units being affected. The reports say the temperature rise led to spoilage across fresh and frozen food stocks. They do not provide a detailed breakdown of how much food was lost, which products were affected, or the value of the spoiled goods.
The incident demonstrates how equipment used to maintain basic supermarket operations can be affected when connected to networks. In this case, the reported disruption involved refrigeration controls and a change to the appliances’ settings. The available reports do not explain how the attackers gained access, how long the systems remained in defrost mode, or whether the same method was used at every affected store.
Conflicting figures on affected stores
The reported number of affected supermarkets in France varies substantially. One account cited more than 480 stores, while another reported that 150 supermarkets had been hit. The latter account included stores belonging to Intermarché, a French retail chain. The discrepancy means the scale of the disruption in France remains unclear from the available reporting.
The reports place the incident across six European countries in total: France and five other nations. They do not name those five countries or give separate figures for affected stores outside France. As a result, the full geographic reach cannot be established from the details currently available. The figures should not be combined into a single total, as the reports may be describing different counts or scopes.
Food spoilage and unanswered questions
The central reported consequence was the loss of fresh and frozen food after the affected units warmed. The accounts describe spoilage in large quantities, but do not specify whether all affected stores lost food, whether some refrigeration systems were restored before products spoiled, or what steps supermarkets took afterward. They also do not state whether any products reached customers after being affected.
The available reporting does not identify the attackers, provide a timeline for the incident, or say whether the systems have since been secured. It also does not describe any wider disruption to supermarket operations beyond the impact on refrigeration and food. Those unanswered details make it difficult to assess the duration and full cost of the attack.
The incident has put attention on the risks associated with internet-connected equipment in retail settings. The reports establish that hackers allegedly altered refrigeration settings across multiple countries, but offer limited information about the technical route used or the response by affected businesses. Until more details are confirmed, both the store count and the broader extent of the losses remain uncertain.
