Cyberhackers Just Took Down the Freezers at 400 French Supermarkets, Forcing Grocers to Throw Away Food
Nobody has claimed responsibility, and many of the targeted systems were running outdated software.
Hackers usually go after your data. In France, they went after the frozen peas. A cyberattack on refrigeration systems hit more than 400 supermarkets in France, forcing some stores to throw out food, according to The New York Times. About 300 Intermarché and Netto stores were affected, along with 80 Coopérative U and 30 Monoprix locations. The attack targeted systems from three companies that remotely control refrigerators, according to France’s National Cybersecurity Agency.
So far, no one has claimed responsibility for the hack, and Paris prosecutors have yet to identify the culprits. Dominique Schelcher, head of French grocery chain Coopérative U, called the attack “unprecedented” and “extremely serious.” “They’re attacking the French people’s food supply,” he said in an interview with RTL radio.
Schelcher hasn’t estimated losses, but says a refrigeration failure can cost a small supermarket tens of thousands of dollars. “In my entire professional career, I’ve never seen anything like this,” he said.
Hackers usually go after your data. In France, they went after the frozen peas. A cyberattack on refrigeration systems hit more than 400 supermarkets in France, forcing some stores to throw out food, according to The New York Times. About 300 Intermarché and Netto stores were affected, along with 80 Coopérative U and 30 Monoprix locations. The attack targeted systems from three companies that remotely control refrigerators, according to France’s National Cybersecurity Agency.
So far, no one has claimed responsibility for the hack, and Paris prosecutors have yet to identify the culprits. Dominique Schelcher, head of French grocery chain Coopérative U, called the attack “unprecedented” and “extremely serious.” “They’re attacking the French people’s food supply,” he said in an interview with RTL radio.
Schelcher hasn’t estimated losses, but says a refrigeration failure can cost a small supermarket tens of thousands of dollars. “In my entire professional career, I’ve never seen anything like this,” he said.
