UPI reported on Monday that hackers had raised the temperature of supermarket freezers and fridges overnight, in some cases to 50C. Gizmodo lists Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Sweden and the Netherlands among the countries hit.
The disruption followed a larger attack in France on the night of 11 October, when hundreds of supermarkets lost chilled and frozen stock. The method looks almost trivial, but the consequences are not.
A Cheap Attack Creates Immediate Losses
Unlike ransomware, freezer attacks do not need to encrypt a corporate network, because attackers only need access to the systems that control temperatures. In France, Les Mousquetaires said about 180 Intermarché or Netto stores were targeted, with at least 100 Coopérative U and 80 Carrefour outlets also affected. An Intermarché in La Haye, Normandy, said temperatures reached 80C and melted some equipment.
Le Monde reported that in some units the defrost cycle was extended from one hour to eight to delay alarms.
Intermarché chief executive Thierry Cotillard told BFM-TV that losses reached “tens of millions of euros nationwide in a single day”, and two Alsace supermarkets reported combined losses of €270,000.
Monoprix removed from sale any product whose storage conditions could no longer be guaranteed. Paris investigators told TIME the heat may also have sparked fires. Spoiled stock cannot be restored from a backup, so a few commands sent overnight can create physical losses before staff arrive.
A Second Wave Spread Across Borders
In Belgium and Luxembourg, Ahold Delhaize reported about 40 supermarkets affected, Carrefour 15 stores and Spar five, according to UPI. In Sweden, Coop reported six stores hit, and ICA said a limited number of its more than 1,300 stores were affected. One Swedish branch said hackers set its refrigerators and freezers to 50C.
SuperValu in Ireland reported an attack on one refrigerator model at 13 stores, while Finland and Estonia reported glitches at some K-Stores branches and one Selver supermarket.
Sabcobel, a Belgian refrigeration installer that also made some of the affected units, said hackers remotely set the fridges to “defrost”, the same technique used in France. Chief executive Stephan Moelans said technicians were mobilised at 1 a.m. and spent the night disconnecting affected installations.
A Delhaize store manager in Hoeilaart said food worth $112,200 was destroyed, excluding the cost of being unable to open.
Why Are Freezers Online?
Refrigeration is connected because remote management saves money: technicians can monitor temperatures, receive alarms and change settings without visiting every store.
That convenience also creates a point of entry. Danfoss said the affected French units were running outdated firmware and that it had long advised customers to update.
Security firm Claroty had published research on flaws in the AK-SM 800A controller that could let an intruder bypass the login.
The French government said exposing a management interface to the internet is “contrary to best practices”. A scan by UK Cyber Defence found France held nearly 60 per cent of the exposed Danfoss controllers it detected.
According to Wikipedia’s account, two affected Danfoss regulators reached end of life years earlier, the AK-SC355 in 2016 and the AK-SM800 in May 2021.
The Motive Is Still Unclear
No group has been identified, and no ransom demand has been reported. Katrien Eggers of Belgium’s Center for Cybersecurity said the culprit may never be known. The Paris prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation, and the national cyber agency ANSSI is coordinating with its European counterparts.
That leaves the attackers’ identity and motive open, from lone actors showing off a capability to organised sabotage, and none of these possibilities has been proven.
Cooperative U chief executive Dominique Schelcher called the French attack “unprecedented” and “of extreme gravity”, while EU agriculture commissioner Christophe Hansen said food security “requires more attention at all levels”. An empty freezer aisle is visible to every shopper, so confidence can suffer as fast as stock.
Security Has to Cover the Whole Store
Supermarket cybersecurity has traditionally focused on payment systems, customer data and corporate IT. The freezer attacks show that a store is also a network of refrigeration, heating, lighting, cameras and doors, any of which can have physical consequences if compromised.
The Food and Ag-ISAC tracked 227 ransomware incidents in food and agriculture from January to July, up 62 per cent year on year, according to TIME.
Retailers may need to isolate refrigeration controls from the public internet, replace outdated equipment and restrict remote access.
That costs money, and responsibility can be split between a refrigeration contractor, an IT department and store staff. Someone has to own the whole system. A target does not have to be strategically important to be disruptive: it only has to be connected, poorly protected and expensive to switch off.
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