Hackers took over fridges at hundreds of French supermarkets overnight and heated them to 122°F, and prosecutors are looking into reported fires

The Paris prosecutor’s office has officially opened an investigation into a large-scale cyberattack that struck hundreds of French supermarkets overnight between October 11 and October 12. This digital intrusion specifically targeted the connected refrigeration systems of major retailers, causing temperatures in fridges and freezers to soar to 122°F for six hours. 

As reported by Dexerto, the incident highlights a massive blind spot in how we manage essential retail equipment. These supermarket cold aisles are usually managed by control panels accessible over the internet, which allows maintenance teams to adjust settings from anywhere. While that sounds convenient for efficiency, it created a massive opening for hackers in this instance.

Intermarché owner Les Mousquetaires confirmed that approximately 150 of its stores were hit by the temperature spikes. A spokesperson for the company explained that all affected food had to be discarded to eliminate health risks. 

This incident will reportedly result in losses of millions of euros

The scale of the loss is staggering, with Intermarché CEO Thierry Cotillard noting that this single day of activity would likely result in losses amounting to tens of millions of euros nationwide. Witnesses in central Paris saw staff at an Intermarché location dumping cartfuls of defrosted goods, including melted ice cream, into large trash containers.

Coopérative U also confirmed it was targeted during the attack, as Reuters reports. Coopérative U chief executive Dominique Schelcher expressed the severity of the situation, stating, “Targeting equipment essential to the preservation of fresh products and to the food supply of the French people is of extreme gravity and is unprecedented.” 

He shared these thoughts on X, echoing the sentiment of many in the retail industry. Other chains like E.Leclerc and Auchan did not respond to requests for comment, while retailers like Carrefour Market and Monoprix have not confirmed if they were affected despite being named in various reports. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu has also instructed France’s National Cybersecurity Agency to investigate the matter.

The technical root of the problem appears to lie with outdated software. Danfoss, the supplier of the refrigeration technology, confirmed it was aware of the incidents. The company stated that the affected units were running outdated firmware and emphasized that it had long advised customers to keep systems updated and to migrate legacy equipment to current-generation solutions.