Nightmare in supermarkets! The temperature of the coolers rose to 50 degrees, tons of products were destroyed

An extraordinary overnight intervention compromised food safety in hundreds of supermarkets. As the temperature of the cooling systems rose to 50 degrees, the possibility of losses worth millions of euros came to the fore. On the other hand, the distribution activities of a large grocery chain were disrupted.

'LARGE-SCALE CYBER ATTACK'

According to AFP, the cyber attack targeting the cooling systems of supermarkets has turned into a serious crisis that threatens food safety and the supply chain. While a large amount of fresh and frozen food was destroyed as a result of remotely changing the temperature of the coolers to critical levels, an investigation was launched into the scope of the incident.

The country at the center of the attack was France. The Paris Prosecutor's Office announced that it is conducting an investigation into a large-scale cyber attack affecting the connected refrigeration systems of major food retailers across the country.

THE TEMPERATURE OF THE COOLERS INCREASED TO 50 DEGREES

As part of the attack, the temperature of some supermarkets' cooling systems was remotely changed overnight and increased up to 50 degrees. As food safety was endangered, it was decided to destroy the affected products.

Les Mousquetaires group, owner of Intermarché, announced that approximately 150 of its stores were affected by the attack. The company reported that the temperature in some coolers reached 50 degrees for six hours and that all affected products were destroyed to prevent a food safety risk.

'EXTREMELY SERIOUS'

Coopérative U Chief Executive Dominique Schelcher also confirmed that the cooling systems of the chain's stores were targeted. Schelcher described the targeting of equipment vital to the preservation of fresh produce and the food supply as “extremely serious and unprecedented.”

Carrefour also announced that 80 of its stores were affected by the attack. While it was stated that other market chains may also have been affected by the incident, it was reported that the total scope of the attack is not yet clear.

LOSSES COULD REACH MILLIONS OF EUROS

The economic dimension of the attack also attracted attention. There was a total loss of 270 thousand euros in two markets in the Alsace region of France. It is estimated that the cost of food losses across the country may reach several million euros.

However, an exact balance sheet regarding the damage incurred on a national scale has not yet been announced. The total amount of products destroyed and the final number of stores affected by the attack were also unclear.

On the instructions of French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, the National Cyber ​​Security Agency (ANSSI) was involved in the investigation. Authorities are also investigating whether the attack affected other European countries or companies.

DISTRIBUTIONS DISRUPTED

Another problem experienced in the food retail industry in Europe emerged in the Netherlands. A separate IT security incident at some distribution centers of the country's largest supermarket chain, Albert Heijn, disrupted logistics operations.

The company disabled some of its systems as a precaution to protect its IT infrastructure. While the delivery of online grocery orders was temporarily disrupted due to the halt of work in distribution centers, physical stores continued to remain open.

The outage didn't just affect Albert Heijn. There were also problems with the websites and mobile applications of Etos and Gall & Gall chains, which are affiliated with the same group.

Albert Heijn Chief Executive Margaret Versteden van Duijn said in a statement to the Dutch public broadcaster NOS that work in some distribution centers has stopped completely.

Versteden van Duijn warned that product shortages in stores may increase if the outage is prolonged. Stating that product availability may vary from store to store, the manager pointed out the possible effects of the disruption on supply.

IS THERE A CONNECTION BETWEEN THE TWO EVENTS?

Albert Heijn stated that the investigation into the cause of the security incident is ongoing and it is not yet clear whether there was unauthorized access to the systems.

According to information provided by Reuters, it has not yet been determined whether there is a direct connection between the cyber attack on cooling systems in France and the IT security incident in the Netherlands.

The targeting of the refrigeration systems of supermarkets in one country and the disruption of the activities of distribution centers in another have brought security issues in the digital infrastructure of food retailing to the agenda again. However, there is no confirmed evidence that the two incidents were part of a joint attack plan.