Cyberattack in France Hits Supermarket Refrigerators, Spoiling Food

An unusual cyberattack in France tampered with refrigerators at hundreds of supermarkets across the country, leading to spoiled food. As the AFP reports , the attack allowed hackers to raise the fridges' temperatures. Affected supermarkets include E. Leclerc, Intermarche, and Cooperative U. The disruption also appears to have hit another chain in the Netherlands. “I can confirm that a cyberattack has been affecting the refrigeration production facilities of several stores in our Coopérative U network since last night,” wrote the retail group’s CEO, Dominique Schelcher. “Attacking equipment that is essential to the preservation of fresh products and the food supply of the French people is extremely serious and unprecedented. It is unacceptable.” French news outlet Numerama reports that the hackers launched the attack on Sunday night by configuring the refrigerators to defrost, causing temperatures to reach 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit). “In some stores, the tampering began around midnight, and the merchandise didn't survive until opening time. Elsewhere, the attack occurred later in the night, and staff were able to salvage some of the fresh produce,” the outlet said. Mousquetaires Group, which runs the Intermarche chain, has indicated that a Danish company, Danfoss, manages the affected refrigerators. Danfoss, which sells smart refrigeration systems used by retailers, issued a statement to France's BFM TV saying the hackers succeeded in part by targeting refrigeration systems no longer supported with software updates. “The majority of affected units are legacy products, including AK-SM800 and AK-SC355 systems, which have reached end of life and no longer receive software or security updates,” Danfoss reportedly said. “The affected AK-SM800A systems were running outdated firmware. Danfoss has long advised customers to keep supported systems updated with the latest firmware and to migrate legacy systems to current-generation solutions.” It's unclear who is behind the hack. But back in August, security researchers at Team82 warned that Danfoss's newer AK-SM 800A controllers suffered from multiple vulnerabilities. Although a firmware patch was released, the researchers also discovered over 2,700 affected Danfoss controllers exposed on the public internet. The older AK-SM800 systems were declared end-of-life in 2021. In the meantime, Danfoss says it’s working with affected customers to mitigate the hack. The European Union’s Commissioner for Agriculture and Food, Christophe Hansen, has also “condemned” the cyberattack. “Food security requires more attention at all levels. Because the weaponization of food has become a reality,” he tweeted .

As the AFP reports , the attack allowed hackers to raise the fridges' temperatures. Affected supermarkets include E. Leclerc, Intermarche, and Cooperative U. The disruption also appears to have hit another chain in the Netherlands. “I can confirm that a cyberattack has been affecting the refrigeration production facilities of several stores in our Coopérative U network since last night,” wrote the retail group’s CEO, Dominique Schelcher. “Attacking equipment that is essential to the preservation of fresh products and the food supply of the French people is extremely serious and unprecedented. It is unacceptable.” French news outlet Numerama reports that the hackers launched the attack on Sunday night by configuring the refrigerators to defrost, causing temperatures to reach 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit). “In some stores, the tampering began around midnight, and the merchandise didn't survive until opening time. Elsewhere, the attack occurred later in the night, and staff were able to salvage some of the fresh produce,” the outlet said. Mousquetaires Group, which runs the Intermarche chain, has indicated that a Danish company, Danfoss, manages the affected refrigerators. Danfoss, which sells smart refrigeration systems used by retailers, issued a statement to France's BFM TV saying the hackers succeeded in part by targeting refrigeration systems no longer supported with software updates. “The majority of affected units are legacy products, including AK-SM800 and AK-SC355 systems, which have reached end of life and no longer receive software or security updates,” Danfoss reportedly said. “The affected AK-SM800A systems were running outdated firmware. Danfoss has long advised customers to keep supported systems updated with the latest firmware and to migrate legacy systems to current-generation solutions.” It's unclear who is behind the hack. But back in August, security researchers at Team82 warned that Danfoss's newer AK-SM 800A controllers suffered from multiple vulnerabilities. Although a firmware patch was released, the researchers also discovered over 2,700 affected Danfoss controllers exposed on the public internet. The older AK-SM800 systems were declared end-of-life in 2021. In the meantime, Danfoss says it’s working with affected customers to mitigate the hack. The European Union’s Commissioner for Agriculture and Food, Christophe Hansen, has also “condemned” the cyberattack. “Food security requires more attention at all levels. Because the weaponization of food has become a reality,” he tweeted .

“I can confirm that a cyberattack has been affecting the refrigeration production facilities of several stores in our Coopérative U network since last night,” wrote the retail group’s CEO, Dominique Schelcher. “Attacking equipment that is essential to the preservation of fresh products and the food supply of the French people is extremely serious and unprecedented. It is unacceptable.” French news outlet Numerama reports that the hackers launched the attack on Sunday night by configuring the refrigerators to defrost, causing temperatures to reach 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit). “In some stores, the tampering began around midnight, and the merchandise didn't survive until opening time. Elsewhere, the attack occurred later in the night, and staff were able to salvage some of the fresh produce,” the outlet said. Mousquetaires Group, which runs the Intermarche chain, has indicated that a Danish company, Danfoss, manages the affected refrigerators. Danfoss, which sells smart refrigeration systems used by retailers, issued a statement to France's BFM TV saying the hackers succeeded in part by targeting refrigeration systems no longer supported with software updates. “The majority of affected units are legacy products, including AK-SM800 and AK-SC355 systems, which have reached end of life and no longer receive software or security updates,” Danfoss reportedly said. “The affected AK-SM800A systems were running outdated firmware. Danfoss has long advised customers to keep supported systems updated with the latest firmware and to migrate legacy systems to current-generation solutions.” It's unclear who is behind the hack. But back in August, security researchers at Team82 warned that Danfoss's newer AK-SM 800A controllers suffered from multiple vulnerabilities. Although a firmware patch was released, the researchers also discovered over 2,700 affected Danfoss controllers exposed on the public internet. The older AK-SM800 systems were declared end-of-life in 2021. In the meantime, Danfoss says it’s working with affected customers to mitigate the hack. The European Union’s Commissioner for Agriculture and Food, Christophe Hansen, has also “condemned” the cyberattack. “Food security requires more attention at all levels. Because the weaponization of food has become a reality,” he tweeted .

French news outlet Numerama reports that the hackers launched the attack on Sunday night by configuring the refrigerators to defrost, causing temperatures to reach 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit). “In some stores, the tampering began around midnight, and the merchandise didn't survive until opening time. Elsewhere, the attack occurred later in the night, and staff were able to salvage some of the fresh produce,” the outlet said. Mousquetaires Group, which runs the Intermarche chain, has indicated that a Danish company, Danfoss, manages the affected refrigerators. Danfoss, which sells smart refrigeration systems used by retailers, issued a statement to France's BFM TV saying the hackers succeeded in part by targeting refrigeration systems no longer supported with software updates. “The majority of affected units are legacy products, including AK-SM800 and AK-SC355 systems, which have reached end of life and no longer receive software or security updates,” Danfoss reportedly said. “The affected AK-SM800A systems were running outdated firmware. Danfoss has long advised customers to keep supported systems updated with the latest firmware and to migrate legacy systems to current-generation solutions.” It's unclear who is behind the hack. But back in August, security researchers at Team82 warned that Danfoss's newer AK-SM 800A controllers suffered from multiple vulnerabilities. Although a firmware patch was released, the researchers also discovered over 2,700 affected Danfoss controllers exposed on the public internet. The older AK-SM800 systems were declared end-of-life in 2021. In the meantime, Danfoss says it’s working with affected customers to mitigate the hack. The European Union’s Commissioner for Agriculture and Food, Christophe Hansen, has also “condemned” the cyberattack. “Food security requires more attention at all levels. Because the weaponization of food has become a reality,” he tweeted .

Mousquetaires Group, which runs the Intermarche chain, has indicated that a Danish company, Danfoss, manages the affected refrigerators. Danfoss, which sells smart refrigeration systems used by retailers, issued a statement to France's BFM TV saying the hackers succeeded in part by targeting refrigeration systems no longer supported with software updates. “The majority of affected units are legacy products, including AK-SM800 and AK-SC355 systems, which have reached end of life and no longer receive software or security updates,” Danfoss reportedly said. “The affected AK-SM800A systems were running outdated firmware. Danfoss has long advised customers to keep supported systems updated with the latest firmware and to migrate legacy systems to current-generation solutions.” It's unclear who is behind the hack. But back in August, security researchers at Team82 warned that Danfoss's newer AK-SM 800A controllers suffered from multiple vulnerabilities. Although a firmware patch was released, the researchers also discovered over 2,700 affected Danfoss controllers exposed on the public internet. The older AK-SM800 systems were declared end-of-life in 2021. In the meantime, Danfoss says it’s working with affected customers to mitigate the hack. The European Union’s Commissioner for Agriculture and Food, Christophe Hansen, has also “condemned” the cyberattack. “Food security requires more attention at all levels. Because the weaponization of food has become a reality,” he tweeted .

“The majority of affected units are legacy products, including AK-SM800 and AK-SC355 systems, which have reached end of life and no longer receive software or security updates,” Danfoss reportedly said. “The affected AK-SM800A systems were running outdated firmware. Danfoss has long advised customers to keep supported systems updated with the latest firmware and to migrate legacy systems to current-generation solutions.” It's unclear who is behind the hack. But back in August, security researchers at Team82 warned that Danfoss's newer AK-SM 800A controllers suffered from multiple vulnerabilities. Although a firmware patch was released, the researchers also discovered over 2,700 affected Danfoss controllers exposed on the public internet. The older AK-SM800 systems were declared end-of-life in 2021. In the meantime, Danfoss says it’s working with affected customers to mitigate the hack. The European Union’s Commissioner for Agriculture and Food, Christophe Hansen, has also “condemned” the cyberattack. “Food security requires more attention at all levels. Because the weaponization of food has become a reality,” he tweeted .

It's unclear who is behind the hack. But back in August, security researchers at Team82 warned that Danfoss's newer AK-SM 800A controllers suffered from multiple vulnerabilities. Although a firmware patch was released, the researchers also discovered over 2,700 affected Danfoss controllers exposed on the public internet. The older AK-SM800 systems were declared end-of-life in 2021. In the meantime, Danfoss says it’s working with affected customers to mitigate the hack. The European Union’s Commissioner for Agriculture and Food, Christophe Hansen, has also “condemned” the cyberattack. “Food security requires more attention at all levels. Because the weaponization of food has become a reality,” he tweeted .

In the meantime, Danfoss says it’s working with affected customers to mitigate the hack. The European Union’s Commissioner for Agriculture and Food, Christophe Hansen, has also “condemned” the cyberattack. “Food security requires more attention at all levels. Because the weaponization of food has become a reality,” he tweeted .