Cyberattack Raises Temperatures to 50°C in 150 French Retail Stores

Paris's prosecutor's office announced the opening of an investigation into a large-scale cyberattack that targeted interconnected cooling systems at major food retailers in France, after temperatures inside refrigerators were raised remotely to 50 degrees Celsius throughout the night.

Les Mousquetaires group, owner of the Intermarché chain, reported that approximately 150 of its stores were affected by the attack, with temperatures in some refrigerators reaching 50 degrees over six consecutive hours, forcing the disposal of all affected products to ensure food safety.

Dominic Chilcher, chief executive of Coopérative U, confirmed that the chain's stores were subjected to the attack, describing the targeting of equipment vital to food safety and national food supply security as a situation of "extreme gravity and unprecedented severity."

Carrefour revealed that 80 of its stores were damaged, while reports indicated that other retail chains were also affected. In the Hauts-de-France region alone, losses for two stores reached 270,000 euros, while the total cost of food losses at the national level has not yet been determined.