Danfoss Moves To Mitigate Cyberattack

FRANCE: Danfoss has said it is in close with supermarket customers in France affected by a cyberattack on Sunday night on its refrigeration controllers.

Hundreds of supermarkets across France are reported to have been affected by the attack which forced refrigeration systems into a continuous defrost cycle, raising temperatures and resulting in the loss of millions of euros worth of fresh and frozen food

In a statement to the Cooling Post , Danfoss revealed that the majority of units affected were legacy products or current products running outdated firmware. Specifically, those affected were its AK-SM800, which was officially declared end-of-life in 2021and the AK-SC355 systems, which were phased out in 2016. These no longer receive software or security updates.

The current AK-SM800A systems affected were running outdated firmware. Danfoss says that it has long advised customers to keep supported systems updated with the latest firmware and to migrate legacy systems to current-generation solutions.

“We are working with affected customers to implement appropriate mitigation measures, including firmware updates where available, stronger network protections and removing direct internet exposure where applicable,” the company said. It added that it continued to provide firmware and security updates for supported products.

It is not known exactly how many supermarkets were affected but reported incidents suggest around 500 stores.

Christophe Hansen, the European commissioner responsible for agriculture and food, condemned the cyberattack, saying: “Food security requires more attention at all levels because the weaponisation of food has become a reality.”