Hot mess: France’s melted freezers hack can happen in Canada, too
A cyberattack on internet-connected refrigeration controllers in France caused significant food spoilage and equipment damage. The incident highlights growing vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure as more physical systems become networked and reliant on third-party software.
Why it matters
It underscores the systemic risk of 'internet of things' devices in public infrastructure and the potential for remote attacks to cause physical-world damage.
A frozen food aisle is closed at a supermarket near Nantes after a cyberattack targeted refrigeration systems at French supermarket chains on Monday. Stephane Mahe/Reuters
Overnight on Sunday, somebody (or something) maliciously broke into internet-connected refrigeration controllers and cranked fridges and freezers at stores across France up to as high as 50 C, spoiling millions of euros worth of food. In some stores, the higher temperatures started fires or even melted equipment . More than 500 shops were affected.
The controllers were made by the Danish firm Danfoss . Most were legacy products running outdated firmware, which the company claims it had urged customers to update. France’s cybersecurity agency has since told operators to disconnect them from the internet or restrict access. Good luck.
Hackers heat French supermarket fridges, sparking fires and spoiling food
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