European supermarket chains hit by cyberattack targeting refrigeration systems
A coordinated attack has disrupted cooling units across major retailers in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, with hackers forcing defrost cycles and disrupting pricing systems.
Supermarket operators across multiple European nations are grappling with the fallout from a significant cyberattack that has compromised refrigeration infrastructure at major retail chains. The incident, which has affected stores in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, has forced cooling units into continuous defrost cycles at 50 degrees Celsius while simultaneously disrupting electronic shelf label systems that manage delivery schedules and pricing information, according to reporting by La Dépêche.
The attack has targeted refrigeration controls manufactured by Danfoss, impacting prominent French retailers including Intermarché, Leclerc, and Coopérative U. Dominique Schelcher, president of Coopérative U, acknowledged the breach on Monday morning, stating: "A cyberattack has been affecting the refrigeration production facilities of several stores in our network since last night." Schelcher indicated that response teams had been deployed to address the problem and committed to a thorough examination of what he characterized as an "extremely serious" incident.