French supermarkets hit by massive cyberattack
12th October 2026
FRANCE: Cyberattackers are reported to have taken control of the refrigeration systems in hundreds of supermarkets in France, changing temperature settings and defrosting produce.
The attack, which began on Sunday night, is said to have affected several major retailers including Intermarché, Netto and Carrefour.
Older versions of Danfoss control software are said to have been targeted, forcing refrigeration systems into a continuous defrost cycle that raised temperatures up to 50°C. Millions of euros worth of fresh and frozen food are said to have been affected.
The attack was confirmed by Dominique Schelcher, CEO of Coopérative U, who said a cyberattack had been affecting several stores in its network. “Our teams are fully mobilised, in coordination with refrigeration specialists, to restore the situation as quickly as possible,” he said. He described the targeting of equipment essential to the preservation of fresh products and to the food supply of the French people as “unprecedented” and “unacceptable”.
Danfoss has not commented, as yet, but cybersecurity firm Claroty published a report in August exposing major vulnerabilities in Danfoss’ AK-SM 800A controllers that could manipulate physical temperature systems. Danfoss addressed the vulnerabilities with firmware release R4.3.1.
