Hackers Cooked Supermarket Freezers to 50C, Spoiling Millions in Food

Hackers seized control of refrigeration software at more than 400 French supermarkets and pushed freezer temperatures to 50C (120F), destroying fresh and frozen food estimated to be worth millions of euros. The Paris prosecutor's office has opened an investigation into what it called a "large-scale cyber-attack affecting the refrigerators of several major food retail chains across France," according to AFP.

Two supermarkets in the Alsace region alone reported combined losses of €270,000 (£228,000), broadcaster BFMTV reported. That figure implies the nationwide damage could run well into the millions.

Which chains were hit?

More than 100 stores operated by Coopérative U were targeted, according to the chain's chief executive, Dominique Schelcher. At least 300 stores belonging to Intermarché and its Netto brand were also affected, AFP reported.

Reports in specialist retail and local media said stores from other food giants — including Carrefour, E.Leclerc and Monoprix — were attacked as well. BBC News has approached those chains for comment. The full scale of the attack remains unclear.

What happened inside the stores?

The hackers gained control of the software that regulates the temperatures of refrigeration units, forcing some to warm overnight. Intermarché said its fridges heated up to 50C for six hours overnight into Monday, and the retailer threw away all the affected food to avoid health risks, Reuters reported.

Some supermarket staff reported waves of hot air when they opened freezer units on Monday morning. BFMTV published an image showing a freezer in an ice cream aisle displaying a temperature of 26.5C.

How have executives and officials responded?

Schelcher described the attack as "extremely serious and unprecedented." In a post on X, he said staff were "fully mobilised, in co-ordination with refrigeration specialists, to restore the situation as quickly as possible." He called for an investigation into the hack and said targeting equipment essential to the French food supply was "unacceptable."

European Food Commissioner Christophe Hansen condemned the attack on X. "Food security requires more attention at all levels," Hansen wrote. "Because the weaponisation of food has become a reality."

The Paris prosecutor's office confirmed its investigation to AFP but has not named suspects. The attackers' identity and motive remain unknown.

Why does an attack on fridges matter?

The incident turns routine infrastructure — supermarket cold-chain systems — into an attack surface with direct physical and financial consequences. Key elements of the case:

• Attackers compromised temperature-regulation software rather than payment or data systems.
• The damage is measured in destroyed inventory, not stolen records: two stores lost €270,000 between them.
• At least three retail groups — Coopérative U, Intermarché and Netto — are confirmed victims, with reports implicating Carrefour, E.Leclerc and Monoprix.
• The attack struck equipment that a European commissioner now describes as part of food security.

The prosecutor's investigation will now determine who carried out the attack and how they accessed the refrigeration controls. For France's grocery sector, the immediate task is restocking shelves — and the longer-term question is whether the cold chain, long treated as a back-office utility, now requires the same cyber defenses as payment systems.