French supermarket fridges heated to 50C in 'unprecedented' cyber attack

Hundreds of French supermarkets were struck by a cyber attack that forced refrigeration units to overheat, spoiling fresh and frozen food valued at millions of euros. Hackers reportedly seized control of the software governing the temperature of fridges and freezers, driving some units to warm to 50 °C (120 °F) overnight. The chief executive of Coopérative U described the incident as “extremely superior and unprecedented,” noting that several of its stores had been compromised. According to AFP, almost 100 Coopérative U outlets were targeted, while between 150 and 200 Intermarché supermarkets suffered effects. Intermarché reported that its freezers remained at 50 °C for six hours spanning overnight into Monday, prompting the retailer to discard all affected merchandise to avert health risks, a detail confirmed by Reuters. Store employees said they encountered bursts of hot air when opening freezer doors on Monday morning. BFMTV aired an image of a freezer in an ice‑cream aisle showing a temperature reading of 26.5 °C. Two Intermarché locations in the Alsace region disclosed losses of €270,000 (£228,000) each, a figure the broadcaster suggested could signal a nationwide total reaching into the millions. Paris prosecutors affirmed the cyber intrusion and indicated it had triggered food‑poisoning outbreaks, per AFP. The full extent of the attack remains unclear. Specialist retail and local outlets reported that other major chains—Carrefour, E.Leclerc and Monoprix—were also hit; BBC News has sought comment from the affected companies. In a post on X, Coopérative U chief executive Dominique Schelcher stated that staff were “fully mobilised, successful co-ordination with refrigeration specialists, to reconstruct the concern arsenic rapidly arsenic possible.” He urged an investigation into the breach and declared that “targeting instrumentality indispensable to the French nutrient proviso was "unacceptable".” Read the full story at BBC News →