Cyber Attack on French Supermarkets; Food Spoilage in Hundreds of Branches

A widespread cyber attack on supermarket cooling systems in France raised the temperatures of some refrigerators to 50 degrees Celsius, causing spoilage of fresh and frozen food.

The attack began on the night of Sunday, October 11, affecting major chains such as Intermarché, Carrefour, E. Leclerc, and Coopérative U.

According to statistics released by the stores, at least 300 branches of Intermarché and Netto, over 100 branches of Coopérative U, and 80 branches of Carrefour faced this issue. Hackers remotely accessed the cooling systems, activating the automatic defrost cycle and raising the equipment's temperature.

Reports also indicate a recorded temperature of 80 degrees Celsius in one of the stores. Paris judicial authorities have stated that this attack has caused not only food damage but also fires in some locations.

According to Reuters, this attack likely targeted the cooling control systems of the Danish company Danfoss. This equipment allows stores to control refrigerator temperatures remotely.

Danfoss has announced that some older models of its cooling control systems, including AK-SM800 and AK-SC355, have been affected. Some of this equipment no longer receives software and security updates; however, it remains unclear what specific vulnerability the hackers exploited.

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has requested the National Cybersecurity Agency to investigate the matter. French authorities are also in contact with their European counterparts to assess the potential vulnerability of similar systems in other countries.

As of now, the identity of the attackers and the exact method of their access to the systems remain unclear, and the final extent of financial damage has not been disclosed.
Source: Gulf News