Cyberattack Disrupts French Grocery Stores

A cyberattack in France impacted numerous grocery stores, causing significant losses of temperature-sensitive products. Hackers manipulated refrigeration systems, affecting chains including Carrefour, Monoprix, Les Mousquetaires, E. Leclerc, and Coopérative U.

The CEO of Coopérative U confirmed the attack in a statement, highlighting that the company’s cold production facilities were compromised. He expressed the severe impact of the cyberattack on vital equipment necessary for preserving fresh products and ensuring food supply.

The Paris prosecutor’s office described the incident as a large-scale attack on connected refrigerators in major food retailers throughout France. Carrefour acknowledged that roughly 80 stores were affected, while Monoprix reported that 5% of their 490 stores faced similar problems.

Les Mousquetaires stated that fridges in about 150 of their stores were heated to 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) for six hours, leading to the disposal of all affected food. Experts estimated financial losses to be over 10 million euros, equivalent to around $11.2 million.

The attack targeted refrigerator control systems from Danish manufacturer Danfoss. Danfoss confirmed that the affected equipment involved outdated systems lacking recent software or security updates, a fact it had previously advised users to address.

French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu tasked the National Cybersecurity Agency (ANSSI) with investigating the cyberattack. ANSSI uncovered vulnerabilities in the software supplied by the manufacturer.

Christophe Hansen, EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Food, condemned the attack as a threat to European food safety and emphasized the growing challenge of food security.

Fox News Digital reached out to multiple parties for further comments regarding the incident.