Not cool: who hacked France’s supermarket fridges?
Whether it was youngsters proving their skills or state sabotage, Europe’s most hacked country was left with a mountain of waste after food began cooking in freezers
TL;DR
- A cyber-attack in France remotely increased temperatures in hundreds of supermarket freezers and fridges, causing massive food spoilage.
- The attack affected up to 700 stores across multiple supermarket chains, including Intermarché, Coopérative U, Carrefour, Leclerc, and Monoprix.
- Hackers exploited security flaws in controllers, potentially by disabling alarms or extending defrost cycles.
- Experts suggest the attack could be political sabotage by state actors (potentially Iran or Russia) or a destructive act by activists.
- The incident underscores France's vulnerability to cyber-attacks and the need for stricter cybersecurity regulations for connected devices.
- This mirrors a similar incident in the US involving military commissary freezers.
- The total cost of the attack could reach tens of millions of euros, with insurance unlikely to cover the full losses.