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Hundreds of major stores in France were subjected to a cyberattack that targeted cooling systems, leading to a rise in refrigerator and freezer temperatures to 50 degrees Celsius in some stores and the spoilage of quantities of food products, according to Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
Reuters reported on Monday that the attack targeted cooling systems in several retail chains, noting that the damage included the spoilage of food products and the outbreak of fires in some locations.
The agency quoted "Les Mousquetaires," the owner of the "Intermarché" chain, as saying that about 150 stores were affected by the attack after refrigerator temperatures rose to 50 degrees Celsius for six hours overnight, explaining that the company disposed of the damaged food products to avoid health risks.
It added that the "Carrefour" chain reported that 80 of its stores were affected, while the "Coopérative U" group stated that it was also subjected to the attack.
For its part, Agence France-Presse stated that the attack affected at least 300 stores belonging to the "Intermarché" and "Netto" chains, in addition to more than 100 stores belonging to the "Coopérative U" group, and a number of "E.Leclerc" stores.
The agency explained that the attack caused a rise in temperatures inside the cooling systems and the spoilage of fresh and frozen food products, while the Paris Public Prosecutor's Office confirmed the opening of an investigation into the large-scale cyberattack that targeted the refrigerators of a number of food retail chains in France.
According to Reuters, French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu directed the French National Cybersecurity Agency (ANSSI) to investigate the attack, while French authorities are coordinating with their European counterparts regarding the possibility of other countries being affected.
Reuters indicated that authorities detected a vulnerability in software provided by the Danish company "Danfoss," which said that the affected cooling systems included equipment running on outdated software that no longer receives security updates.
As of the time of the reports' publication, authorities had not announced the party responsible for the attack, while the CEO of the "Intermarché" group, Thierry Cotillard, estimated that losses across France could reach tens of millions of euros in a single day.
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