Cyber attack overheats French supermarket fridges and spoils food inventory

Cyber criminals hacked into refrigeration systems across hundreds of French supermarkets, causing temperatures to rise and spoiling millions of euros' worth of food. Food Navigator and Wikipedia both report that the breach targeted cold storage controls overnight, forcing retailers to discard widespread stocks of fresh and frozen goods. [1][2]

Discrepancies exist regarding the exact timing of the incident. Wikipedia states that the hack occurred on October 11, 2026, when systems were placed into defrost mode. Food Navigator reported that the attack took place on October 12, with perpetrators taking control of the fridges and heating them to 50°C, or 122°F, for several hours. [1][2]

The impacted software was supplied by Danfoss, a Danish engineering company, according to Food Navigator. A spokesperson for retail group Groupement Les Mousquetaires confirmed that a cyber attack on a refrigeration service provider left several fresh and frozen food display units out of service. At the time of reporting, no group has claimed responsibility for the disruption. [1]