Hundreds of French supermarkets have been hit by a cyber attack that caused their fridges and freezers to heat up, spoiling fresh and frozen food estimated to be worth millions of euros. Hackers gained control of software that regulates the temperatures of refrigeration units, forcing some to warm to 50C (120F) overnight, according to one affected supermarket chain.
The chief executive of Coopérative U said several of its supermarkets had been hit by the "extremely serious and unprecedented" attack. More than 100 of the chain's supermarkets were targeted, while 180 stores from Intermarché and its Netto brand were affected. Other major retailers, including Carrefour, Monoprix and E.Leclerc, were also hit. The attack targeted software provided by Danish engineering firm Danfoss, which allows retailers to manage their cold units remotely. Normally, freezers defrost briefly overnight, but the hackers ordered the units to heat up and stay hot.
Danfoss said the affected units were older models whose security software could not be updated to guard against a risk it had identified, and said it had "long advised" businesses to keep supported systems up to date. The full scale of the attack is unclear, but figures from individual chains suggest about 400 stores were affected out of roughly 15,000 in France. Carrefour said 80 of its 6,000 stores were hacked, while Monoprix said 5% of its 400-plus stores had been hit. Food was removed from sale where its condition could not be guaranteed.
In Alsace, two supermarkets reported losses of €270,000 (£228,000) between them, meaning the nationwide total could run into the millions. Paris prosecutors have opened a cyber-crime investigation. European Food Commissioner Christophe Hansen condemned the hack, saying "the weaponisation of food has become a reality." Coopérative chief executive Dominique Schelcher called the targeting of equipment essential to the French food supply "unacceptable" and called for an investigation.
Source: Hacker News · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing