Refrigerators in French Supermarkets Hit by Cyberattack

Hundreds of stores were targeted in an overnight hack that spoiled fresh and frozen food, with losses estimated at millions of euros.

Hundreds of French supermarkets have been hit by a cyber attack, causing their fridges and freezers to overheat and spoil fresh and frozen food worth millions of euros.

Hackers reportedly took control of the software that regulates the temperature of the refrigeration units, forcing some to heat up to 50 degrees Celsius (120 degrees Fahrenheit) overnight.

The chief executive of Coopérative U said several of its supermarkets had come under "very serious and unprecedented" attacks.

According to Ambassador Arjan, more than 100 supermarket chains were targeted, while at least 300 stores from Intermarché and its Netto brand were affected.

Some supermarket staff said they were hit by waves of hot air when opening freezer units on Monday morning.

French broadcaster BFMTV released footage showing a freezer in an ice cream aisle showing a temperature of 26.5 degrees Celsius.

The broadcaster added that two supermarkets in the Alsace region reported losses of €270,000 (£228,000) between them, meaning the national total could run into the millions.

The Paris prosecutor's office told Ambassador Arjan that it had opened an investigation into the incident, which it called "a massive cyberattack that affected the refrigerators of several major food retail chains across France."

European Food Commissioner Christoph Hansen condemned the hack in a post on X, adding: "Food security needs more attention at all levels. Food weaponization has become a reality."

The full extent of this attack is still unclear.

Reports in specialty retailers and local media suggest that stores of other food giants, including Carrefour, E.Leclerc and Monoprix, were also attacked. The BBC has approached the supermarket chain for comment.

In a post on X, the co-op's chief executive Dominique Schlecher said staff were "fully mobilized in coordination with refrigeration specialists to restore the situation as quickly as possible".

He called for an investigation into the hack, saying it was "unacceptable" to target equipment essential to France's food supply.