Cyberattack hits cooling systems at French supermarkets
Hundreds of stores report problems with refrigerated systems; French prosecutors investigate the attack.
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A cyberattack disrupted the cooling systems of several French supermarket chains overnight from Sunday to Monday. Intermarché and Coopérative U say many stores were affected and that fresh and frozen products must be discarded.
According to information the chains provided to news agency AFP, around 150 to 200 Intermarché stores were affected. At Coopérative U, almost 100 branches were involved. The systems that remotely control cold production were disrupted, the companies said, to such an extent that normal temperature regulation no longer worked.
E.Leclerc has also been mentioned in French reporting. At the time of publication, the chain had not independently confirmed its involvement. Reports about other supermarket chains have likewise not all been confirmed by the companies themselves. The total scale of the attack therefore cannot yet be established.
Intermarché says affected branches must destroy their fresh and frozen stock. The total damage has not yet been calculated, but French media say it could run into the millions. This concerns not only the value of the food, but also the costs of investigation, recovery and temporary business disruption.
According to AFP, the Paris public prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation into a large-scale attack on the cooling systems of several supermarket chains. It is not yet known who was behind the attack, which access mechanism was exploited or what the motive was. There is no public indication that customer data were stolen.
The incident shows that digital attacks can affect more than just websites, payment terminals or customer databases. Building-management and industrial-control systems are also connected to corporate networks. French cybersecurity guidelines have long warned that such systems can have physical consequences if unauthorised parties gain control.
The chains involved are trying to restore control of the installations and are mapping the damage at each store. Until the investigation provides greater clarity, it remains uncertain whether a shared supplier, a standalone system or multiple access routes were exploited.
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The core of the incident has been confirmed by multiple public sources. Unconfirmed information about additional chains, perpetrators and damage has been explicitly presented as uncertain.
- confirmed A cyberattack disrupted the cooling systems of French supermarkets on 12 October. — Intermarché and Coopérative U confirmed this to AFP; TF1 reported the same attack. source
- confirmed Around 150 to 200 Intermarché stores and almost 100 U stores were affected. — These figures were provided to AFP by the chains involved. source
- confirmed Affected stores must discard fresh and frozen products. — Intermarché told AFP that affected branches must discard their stock. source
- confirmed The Paris public prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation. — AFP reported that the Paris prosecutor’s office had confirmed an investigation into the attack. source
- uncertain The total damage runs into the millions. — French media mention possible damage worth millions, but a definitive calculation is not available. source
Editor's note
The attack, the chains involved, the numbers and the judicial investigation have been confirmed by AFP and French reporting. The perpetrator, motive, precise technical vulnerability and total damage remain unknown.Sources
More on this in Dutch media
- RTL Nieuws — „cyberaanval supermarkten”
- FD — „cyberaanval supermarkten”
- Trouw — „cyberaanval supermarkten”