Hackers heat French supermarket fridges, sparking fires and spoiling food
A large-scale cyberattack targeted supermarket refrigeration systems across France and several other European countries, causing food spoilage and fires. Authorities are investigating the incident, which has been described as an unprecedented threat to food supply infrastructure.
Why it matters
This attack demonstrates the vulnerability of critical infrastructure to cyber threats and the potential for significant economic and health impacts.
Hackers raised the temperature of refrigerators and freezers at hundreds of French supermarkets to as high as 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) overnight, causing fires and spoiling food.
The Paris prosecutor’s office said on Monday (October 12, 2026) that a “large-scale” attack was “affecting connected refrigerators in several major food retailers across France”, leading to food losses and fires.
Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu has instructed France’s National Cybersecurity Agency (ANSSI) to investigate, a person in his office said.
France was coordinating with European counterparts because other countries could also be affected, the person said, adding that authorities were assessing whether other French companies were at risk.
Felix Aime, a senior cyber threat intelligence analyst at Sekoia Threat Detection and Research, said Spain, Portugal, Poland, Germany and Belgium had also been affected.
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