Cyber attack on French supermarket fridges raises alarm over food security

The boss of a French supermarket chain targeted by cyber attacks that forced its fridges to overheat has described the incident as an “unprecedented” and “extremely serious” attack on the country’s food security.

The cyber attack, which took place on Sunday, impacted about 80 out of Coopérative U’s 2,000 stores, Dominique Schelcher told RTL radio on Tuesday.

Hundreds of stores at other French supermarket chains including Carrefour, Intermarché and Netto were also affected, with attackers taking control of refrigeration systems and drastically raising their temperatures.

The Intermarché store in Le Haye, in northwestern France, said in a video posted on Facebook that temperatures in some fridges had risen as high as 80°C, melting equipment and destroying food.

“We never would have expected something like this in our rural Intermarché store . . . It is a huge operating loss,” manager Julien Fréret said in the post as he apologised to clients.

Mousquetaires, owner of Intermarché and Netto, said products were removed from the impacted stores’ fridges as quickly as possible and operations were “gradually” returning to normal.

Countries around the world have become increasingly concerned about the potential consequences of cyber attacks on connected systems and critical infrastructure.

French President Emmanuel Macron in September ordered a heightened level of vigilance against cyber attacks, after warning about the increased risk of Russian “hybrid” attacks in Europe.

On Monday, Schelcher emphasised that only “a small minority” of Coopérative U’s stores were affected and that very little food was ruined as staff in many cases intervened to stabilise the equipment.

However, he said: “They’re attacking the food supply of the French people. In my entire professional career, I’ve never seen anything like it.”

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He added that the perpetrators’ identities were not yet known but the government’s cyber security agency and the Paris prosecutor’s offices have opened investigations.

The affected fridge software, made by Danish company called Danfoss, was installed in the supermarkets by a refrigeration supply company, Schelcher said.

Danfoss said the incidents were affecting a limited number of refrigeration management systems: “We take these incidents seriously and are in close contact with affected customers to support them in addressing the situation.”

Schelcher said the company was “working flat out” to identify fridges that were vulnerable to cyber attacks.