Intermarché, Coopérative U, and Leclerc supermarkets in France were hit by cyberattacks Sunday night that disabled refrigeration systems and forced stores to discard spoiled meat, frozen goods, and vegetables.
A spokesman for owner Groupement Mousquetaires told Bloomberg that roughly 150 Intermarché stores were caught up in the attack. The attackers manipulated Danfoss-made cooling systems to run a nonstop defrost cycle, driving temperatures in refrigerators and freezers up to 50 degrees Celsius over a period of six hours.
Coopérative U CEO Dominique Schelcher confirmed the attack on X $TWTR , calling it "extremely serious" and saying teams had been mobilized to address it, according to Tom's Hardware . Fewer than a hundred Coopérative U stores were affected, according to Bloomberg, citing Agence France-Presse. Some Leclerc stores were also targeted, Bloomberg reported, citing BFM. Leclerc did not respond to a Bloomberg request for .
Early loss estimates were approaching 300,000 euros but could climb into the millions nationwide, according to Tom's Hardware. Sources described "a wave of heat" escaping from the affected units. Under normal conditions the defrost function cycles for around two hours daily, but the attackers overrode those limits to keep it running indefinitely, according to Tom's Hardware.
Groupement Mousquetaires said the refrigeration systems were under Danfoss's management and added that responsibility for filing a complaint with authorities would fall to the supplier, Bloomberg reported.
The attack comes months after cybersecurity researchers flagged a vulnerability in Danfoss refrigeration controllers. Team82 released a report in August detailing a hidden authentication mechanism in Danfoss systems used to manage refrigeration in supermarkets and cold storage facilities — one that could be exploited to tamper with their operations, according to Bloomberg.
Separately, a cyberattack in the Netherlands on Sunday disrupted operations at supermarket chains including Albert Heijn, Etos, and Gall & Gall, taking down their websites and affecting deliveries and electronic shelf labels, according to Tom's Hardware. Belgium's Delhaize chain also reported disruption. It is not clear whether the Dutch and French incidents are related, according to Tom's Hardware.
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