Cyberattack causes cooling systems in French supermarkets to thaw
Multiple supermarket chains in France suffered a cyberattack that remotely disabled refrigeration systems, causing significant food spoilage. Meanwhile, the Dutch retail company Ahold Delhaize is facing its own IT-related service disruptions, though no link between the two incidents has been established.
A widespread cyberattack recently disrupted refrigeration systems at multiple French supermarket chains, including Intermarché, Coopérative U, and E.Leclerc. Hackers gained remote access to control units and activated the defrost function, allegedly setting temperatures as high as 50 degrees Celsius. This malicious act forced the systems to emit heat instead of cooling, potentially leading to the loss of large quantities of fresh and frozen food products. Supermarket executives have condemned the incident, and technical teams are currently working to restore operations while investigating the origin of the breach.
Separately, the Dutch retail giant Ahold Delhaize, which owns Albert Heijn, is dealing with an unrelated IT incident that has rendered its websites and delivery apps temporarily unavailable. The company proactively disabled certain systems to mitigate risk, though it has not confirmed the exact cause of the outage. At this stage, authorities and company representatives have found no evidence linking the French refrigeration attack to the disruptions experienced by the Dutch retailer.
Based on reporting by nu. Translated and condensed by LocalHeadlines.
