A fridge hack spoiled food in hundreds of French supermarkets. Cybersecurity experts say it's a wake-up call

"The more we rely on connected technology, the more we need to keep in mind the crucial aspect that is their security and privacy," said Montreal-based cybersecurity expert Steven Lachance.

The attack appeared to target centralized control systems that allow the temperature of fridges to be changed remotely. Hackers were able to access those controls and jack up fridge temperatures at hundreds of grocery stores — in some cases as high as 50 C — causing their contents to spoil, and potentially causing fires.

The Paris prosecutor's office said Tuesday that its cybercrime unit was investigating the large-scale attack to determine the extent of the damage and pin down the hackers behind it. No group has claimed responsibility so far, nor was there a ransom demand, according to Reuters.

Cyberattack defrosts French supermarket freezers, spoiling food at 100s of stores