Cyberattacks | Software security

Hackers Targeted French Supermarket Fridges, Spoiling Millions in Food

Hackers hit hundreds of French supermarkets, disrupting refrigeration with €270,000 losses, as a cybercrime investigation begins.

By Content Team

Oct 14, 2026

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A cyberattack hit French supermarkets overnight on Sunday, October 11, with hackers remotely triggering the forced-defrost function built into store refrigeration controllers and leaving it running. Fridges and freezers climbed to 50°C. Managers found the damage on Monday morning, and the French government now puts the count at around 700 stores.

France’s cybersecurity agency says the compromises involve remote-control modules from Danish firm Danfoss and US firm Copeland. Danfoss says the affected units were older models whose security software couldn’t be updated, and that it has long told customers to keep supported systems current.

Chains hit include Coopérative U, Intermarché, Carrefour, and Monoprix, with E.Leclerc affected through one of its refrigeration suppliers. Intermarché disconnected around 100 further stores from the internet to stop the same thing reaching them. Two stores in Alsace alone reported €270,000 in losses, with nationwide damages expected to reach millions. Some locations reported small fires.

French prosecutors have launched a cybercrime investigation, and the European Food Commissioner warned that “weaponisation of food has become a reality.”

Source: BBC News

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