Cyberattack on French supermarkets heats fridges and sparks fires
A widespread cyberattack targeted refrigeration systems in hundreds of French supermarkets, causing food spoilage and fires. The attack affected multiple major chains across several European countries, prompting officials to label the incident a serious threat to food security.
Why it matters
This incident demonstrates the vulnerability of critical infrastructure and supply chains to cyber warfare, specifically the weaponization of essential food preservation systems.
Hackers targeted hundreds of French supermarkets in a cyberattack that reportedly caused refrigerators and freezers to overheat, spoiling food and sparking fires.
Fridges at French supermarket chains Carrefour, Monoprix, the Les Mousquetaires-owned Intermarché, and Coopérative U, among others, all saw fridges heat up to as much as 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) overnight, Reuters reported Monday.
Coopérative U's CEO, Dominique Schelcher, confirmed that cyberattacks had affected "refrigeration production facilities of several stores."
"Attacking equipment that is essential to the preservation of fresh products and the food supply of the French people is extremely serious and unprecedented. It is unacceptable," Schelcher said in a LinkedIn post .
CNBC has reached out to Carrefour, Monoprix, Intermarché, Coopérative U and E Leclerc for comment but did not immediately hear back.
Also covering this story
6 other newsrooms covered this event. We read each version separately.
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Fridges in French supermarkets hit by cyber attack
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