Cyberattack on Legacy Danfoss Controllers Disables Refrigeration Across French Supermarkets

A cyberattack targeting industrial refrigeration control infrastructure has disrupted operations across hundreds of French supermarket locations, forcing stores to discard spoiled inventory and prompting a criminal investigation into related store fires, as reported via Hacker News (https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/1865776/french-supermarkets-suffer-refrigerator-shutdown-after-unprecedented-cyberattack).

French grocery operators E. Leclerc, Intermarche, and Cooperative U confirmed that unauthorized intrusions caused cooling system temperatures to rise across their retail networks. At least 300 stores operating under Intermarche and its Netto discount brand were affected, along with more than 100 Cooperative U outlets and several E. Leclerc locations. Retail news outlet jebosseengrandedistribution.fr reported that Carrefour Market and Monoprix stores were also hit, though neither company has confirmed the disruption. Broadcaster BFM TV reported that attackers remotely activated forced defrost cycles across affected systems.

The operational compromises centered on refrigeration management systems manufactured by Danish industrial supplier Danfoss. Intermarche confirmed that attackers targeted AK-SM800 and AK-SC355 regulator models running outdated firmware. Danfoss stated that the affected devices are legacy products that no longer receive software or security updates, noting that it had previously advised customers to migrate away from those models. Danfoss did not provide figures on the total number of compromised systems.

The Paris prosecutor's office opened a formal investigation into the incident, examining the scope of foodstuff losses and investigating reports of store fires linked to the equipment failures. Cooperative U Chief Executive Dominique Schelcher described the disruption as unprecedented and confirmed that cooling systems had experienced interference since Sunday night.

A source close to French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said France's national cybersecurity agency identified the software vulnerability and contacted Danfoss. The agency is coordinating with European counterparts to assess whether operators in other countries are exposed and to prevent further spread across French commercial networks.

European Union Food and Agriculture Commissioner Christophe Hansen condemned the attack, warning that the exploitation of critical food supply infrastructure has become an operational reality. Antoine Hautin, a consultant at cybersecurity firm Almond, noted that while industrial refrigeration units were historically air-gapped, modern remote sensors and monitoring connections expose legacy hardware to coordinated network attacks.