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Hackers heat French supermarket fridges to 50C in 'large-scale' cyber attack

Thisisthecoast • October 12, 2026

Hackers carried out a cyber attack on hundreds of French supermarkets overnight - pushing temperatures in fridges up to 50C and sparking fires.

Les Mousquetaires, which ⁠owns retailer Intermarche, said that approximately 150 of its stores were affected, with the retail group forced to throw all the food away.

Cooperative U was also targeted in the attack , CEO Dominique Schelcher confirmed.

He said that teams had been "fully mobilised" to resolve "the situation as quickly as possible".

Mr Schelcher posted on X: "Targeting equipment essential to the preservation of fresh products and to the food supply of the French people is of extreme gravity and is unprecedented. It is unacceptable."

Carrefour said that 80 of its supermarkets were also affected.

The Paris prosecutor's office called the incident a "large-scale" ‌attack which has resulted in "food losses and fires".

France 's Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu has tasked the country's National Cybersecurity Agency (ANSSI) with investigating the cyber attack.

A person in his office said France "was coordinating with its European counterparts, as other countries may also be affected".

Dutch supermarket operator Ahold Delhaize - which controls the Netherlands' biggest supermarket chain Albert Heijn and is the fourth-largest grocery retailer in the US - also took several systems offline as it contended with a "security issue" in its network.

Albert Heijn's app and delivery system went down, with customers told there had been a "cybersecurity incident".

It is unclear if there are any links between the issues reported by Ahold Delhaize and the cyber attack in France.

Websites for US retailers Stop & Shop, Giant, Hannaford and Food Lion stores also carried messages saying "site temporarily down".

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ANSSI had identified a vulnerability in software supplied by Danish company Danfoss, a source close to the French prime minister told Reuters news agency.

Danfoss said that affected stores in France "were running outdated firmware" and that it had "long advised customers to keep supported systems updated with the latest firmware".

Sky News has approached Danfoss for .

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This article is one source in a clustered incident — the cluster page carries the summary, timeline and every other outlet covering it.

Cyberattack Heats French Supermarket Refrigerators, Causing Large Food Spoilage A significant cyberattack targeted refrigeration systems in French supermarkets, causing temperatures to rise to 50°C (122°F) and resulting in extensive food spoilage. Major chains affected include Intermarché, Coopérative U, and E. Leclerc, with estimates of over 150 Intermarché stores and nearly 100 Coopérative U outlets impacted. The attack exploited vulnerabilities in outdated software from Danish manufacturer Danfoss, which manages these refrigeration systems. French authorities have opened an investigation into the incident, which has also sparked fires in some locations. The total financial losses from spoiled food are expected to reach millions of euros. The attack began overnight on October 11, 2026, with reports confirming the incident on October 12. The European Union's Commissioner for Agriculture condemned the attack, emphasizing the need for heightened food security measures. 45 sources 69

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Hackers heat French supermarket fridges to 50C in 'large-scale' cyber attack

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