Cyberattack Disrupts Supermarkets in Europe
A recent cyberattack has significantly affected refrigeration, delivery, and pricing systems at supermarket chains in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, impacting at least 700 stores. This hack caused refrigeration units to reach temperatures as high as 122 degrees Fahrenheit (50 degrees Celsius).
Reports indicate that this attack forced supermarkets like Intermarché, Leclerc, and Coopérative U to put their refrigeration units into a continuous defrost cycle, which is unusual for them as they typically defrost for about two hours each day. This malfunction led to a noticeable surge of warm air escaping from the fridges and freezers. It appears the hack targeted refrigeration controls manufactured by Danfoss, disrupting deliveries and in-store pricing via electronic shelf labels as well.
Dominique Schelcher, the president of Coopérative U, confirmed the situation earlier this week. In an English translation, he expressed that “a cyberattack has been affecting the refrigeration production facilities of several stores in our network since last night.” He described the situation as “extremely serious,” stating that teams were being deployed to address the issue, with an investigation planned to follow.
As a result of the attack, losses are anticipated to reach millions of Euros due to the need to discard spoiled food.
According to various reports, the cyberattack exploited vulnerabilities in refrigeration systems produced by Danfoss, which attributed the issue to “outdated firmware.”
A source close to Lecornu mentioned that ANSSI had detected a weakness in the software provided by the Danish company Danfoss. Danfoss acknowledged being “aware of incidents in France affecting a limited number of refrigeration management systems” and noted that those units “were running outdated firmware.” They emphasized the importance of keeping systems updated and advised customers to transition from legacy systems to more current solutions.
As of now, no one has taken responsibility for the cyberattack, nor has there been a ransom demand. There are broader concerns regarding infrastructure sabotage related to this incident.
In a related context, Breitbart News reported earlier about a train derailment in France that was suspected to be an act of sabotage:
A regional train carrying 186 passengers from Rouen to Caen derailed on a recent Friday evening in Cléon, located in the Seine-Maritime department of northwestern France. An 18-year-old woman suffered injuries and had to be evacuated by helicopter to Rouen University Hospital. A spokeswoman for the French national police mentioned that a piece of rail discovered on the track was probably linked to the derailment but spoke anonymously due to police policy.
