Investigators hunt hackers who heated French supermarket fridges, sparking fires and spoiling food

Hackers targeted hundreds of French supermarkets by remotely accessing and adjusting cooling unit temperatures, leading to spoiled food and significant financial losses. Authorities are investigating the breach as a critical vulnerability in connected supply chain systems.
Why it matters
The attack demonstrates the severe real-world consequences of insecure Internet of Things (IoT) infrastructure in the retail sector.
French investigators on Tuesday were hunting the hackers who seized control of cooling units at hundreds of supermarkets in a cyberattack that underlined the vulnerabilities of connected systems, with no group publicly claiming responsibility. The cyberattack, which manually overrode the temperatures at fridges in supermarket groups including Carrefour, Monoprix, Intermarche and Cooperative U, appears to have been easy to pull off, three cyber experts told Reuters. Staff at some Paris supermarkets threw boxes full of perished meat and frozen goods into giant trash containers on Tuesday. At least 350 supermarkets — a small fraction of the total number in France — were caught up in the strike. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu instructed France’s National Cybersecurity Agency (ANSSI) to investigate, a person in his office said.
Also covering this story
8 other newsrooms covered this event. We read each version separately.
Hackers activate automatic defrosting accross European supermarket fridges
Fridges heated to 50°C, food destroyed: Hundreds of shops in France hit by cyberattack
Cyber-attack defrosts refrigerators in two French supermarket chains
Hackers heat French supermarket fridges, sparking fires and spoiling food
Cyberattack on French supermarkets heats fridges and sparks fires
Fridges in French supermarkets hit by cyber attack
Hackers knocked out refrigeration at hundreds of French supermarkets, spoiling food
French fridge fright: Why supermarkets have become target for hackers
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in