'Unprecedented' cyberattack targets refrigeration units at hundreds of French supermarkets

The attack changed how supermarket refrigerators operated. Instead of keeping food cold, affected units were made to defrost. This threatened products that depended on continuous refrigeration, including fresh and frozen food. The incident mattered because supermarket cooling systems support everyday food supplies.

Intermarché said 150 to 200 shops were targeted, while almost 100 Coopérative U outlets were affected. Carrefour reported 80 hit supermarkets. BFM TV said hackers remotely triggered forced defrosting in numerous E. Leclerc stores, although the company had not confirmed that report.

Affected branches faced the need to discard fresh and frozen products. Intermarché also warned of financial losses and possible insurance problems. Paris prosecutors opened an investigation into the large-scale attack, including reported food losses and fires. The article does not identify the attackers or explain the technical route used to control the refrigeration units.

The reported scale reached hundreds of supermarket locations. Intermarché said 150 to 200 shops were targeted, Coopérative U reported almost 100 affected outlets, and Carrefour said 80 supermarkets had been hit. Together, those figures indicate at least 330 reported locations, although the Intermarché figure is a range and some reports remained unconfirmed.

Three major chains confirmed impacts to AFP or publicly: Intermarché, Coopérative U and Carrefour. BFM TV reported that E. Leclerc was also affected, saying hackers remotely triggered defrosting in numerous stores. Retail-sector reporting additionally named Carrefour Market and Monoprix, but those companies had not confirmed the claims.

The total could therefore be higher than the confirmed figures. Carrefour said the vast majority of its 6,000 stores were unaffected. Paris prosecutors described the incident as a large-scale attack across several major food retailers and are investigating its full scope.

The key mechanism was remote control of refrigeration settings. Hackers reportedly altered temperatures and activated forced defrosting, preventing the units from maintaining the cold conditions needed for fresh and frozen food. This turned a digital intrusion into a physical disruption inside stores.

BFM TV reported that attackers managed to remotely trigger forced defrosting in numerous E. Leclerc stores. Intermarché and Coopérative U also reported refrigeration impacts, while Carrefour confirmed that 80 supermarkets had been hit. The article does not describe the software, network, device, or security weakness involved.

That missing technical detail is important. Investigators must establish how the attackers reached the systems and whether the same method affected multiple retailers. Paris prosecutors opened a probe into the large-scale attack. The incident shows why digitally connected equipment can produce direct physical consequences, even when the immediate target appears to be a supermarket refrigerator.

When the refrigeration systems defrosted, stores could no longer reliably preserve their chilled and frozen stock. The immediate consequence was food spoilage or loss. This affected both retailers and shoppers because products intended for sale had to be removed rather than distributed.

Intermarché told AFP that affected branches would have to throw away all fresh and frozen products. BFM TV reported that temperatures were altered remotely, resulting in the destruction of stocks. Intermarché condemned the food waste and financial losses caused by the attack, but did not provide figures.

The losses may extend beyond discarded food. Intermarché warned that insurance policies might not cover this type of in-store incident. The article does not quantify the total waste or say how many individual products were destroyed. The prosecutor’s investigation is intended to identify victims and establish the link between the attack and reported foodstuff losses.

The article reports two kinds of damage: refrigeration failures that caused food losses, and fire outbreaks mentioned in connection with the wider incident. It does not establish that the defrosting itself caused the fires. Instead, prosecutors said their investigation would examine the relationship between the cyberattack, reported losses, and fires.

Paris prosecutors confirmed an investigation into a large-scale cyberattack affecting refrigerators at several major food retailers. Their office said the probe would identify victims and establish the link with damage reported by retailers, including foodstuff losses and the outbreak of fires. No specific store, fire cause, or equipment failure is identified in the article.

The current reality is therefore that the fires are reported, but their connection remains under investigation. It would be inaccurate to claim a confirmed technical chain from remote defrosting to fire. Further findings are needed to determine whether the outbreaks resulted directly from compromised systems, another part of the attack, or an unrelated event.

The investigation focuses on a cyberattack that affected refrigeration systems across several major French supermarket chains. Prosecutors are seeking to identify the victims and determine how the attack relates to reported food losses and fire outbreaks. The inquiry may also clarify the overall scale and the links between incidents at different retailers.

Intermarché reported 150 to 200 targeted shops, Coopérative U reported almost 100 affected outlets, and Carrefour said 80 supermarkets had been hit. BFM TV reported that E. Leclerc was affected, while specialist retail reporting named Carrefour Market and Monoprix. E. Leclerc and the latter companies had not confirmed those reports.

The systems involved were store refrigeration units and related temperature controls. The article gives no confirmed attacker, motive, software, or entry method. It also does not establish whether every reported retailer suffered through the same technical route. The prosecutor’s investigation is expected to establish those facts and assess the resulting damage.

Refrigeration systems matter beyond a single store because they preserve food that people rely on every day. A failure across many supermarkets can create waste, financial losses, and pressure on food availability. That makes these systems part of services essential to daily life, even though they are physical equipment controlled through digital systems.

In this incident, attackers reportedly changed temperatures remotely and triggered forced defrosting. The example shows the link between cyber control and physical results: a digital command affected refrigerators, products, and store operations. The article also notes that Macron ordered measures to protect France’s critical infrastructure from Russian hybrid attacks.

The article does not list specific safeguards. In general, protection includes strong access controls, network separation, secure updates, continuous monitoring, alarms for abnormal temperature changes, and tested manual recovery procedures. Retailers also need coordinated incident response so stores can isolate compromised systems and protect food quickly. These measures can reduce the chance that a cyberattack interrupts essential physical services.