A cyberattack hit the refrigeration infrastructure of hundreds of Coopérative U, Intermarché and E.Leclerc supermarkets

A hack of a unique kind. This Monday, the major retail brands Intermarché and Coopérative U confirmed to Le Figaro that they had suffered a cyberattack during the night from Sunday to Monday targeting their refrigeration infrastructure. If the causes of this action are still mysterious, the consequences are real: a significant part of the frozen products had to be thrown away.

The cyberattack targeted the Danish software Danfoss, which manages a large part of the refrigerators of French major retailers. Software versions prior to version 4 were targeted. Hackers would have managed to take control of the forced defrosting of refrigeration installations, to disrupt temperatures remotely and thus undermine the conservation of thousands of food products. Less than a hundred supermarkets would have been affected on the Cooperative U side, while Intermarché counts between 150 and 200. The Mousquetaires Group estimates the losses at “several million euros”, without precise figures at this stage. For its part, E.Leclerc also confirms a “computer attack [which] affected one of its refrigeration equipment suppliers”.

An “unacceptable” attack

According to the Paris prosecutor's office, which launched an investigation on its own initiative, there were also “fires,” reports AFP. When questioned, the Ministry of Commerce indicated that it was “in contact with the distributors”, without having “additional information” at this stage.

“After 25 years in mass distribution, I would never have thought that this would happen to us, such an attack has never happened to me,” says, stunned, Sophie Matt, boss of the Intermarché d’Haguenau (Bas-Rhin). In the early morning, its night teams found abnormally very hot refrigeration infrastructures. Hot air at 50 degrees was programmed by the hackers, causing the temperature of the refrigerated units to rise to 36°C, explains the manager. She estimates her losses at 50,000 euros.