Shortly before midnight last Sunday hackers remotely overrode digital thermostats on thousands of supermarket freezers, fridges and chillers across France, pushing temperatures from around -27C to well over 50C and spoiling stock. Up to 700 stores were affected, including Intermarché, Coopérative U, Carrefour, Leclerc and Monoprix; one Normandy store reported some freezers forced to 80C and an Intermarché worker said units reached 62C. The Paris public prosecutor opened an investigation after fires triggered sprinklers and staff in several shops had to throw away tons of food and work long hours to restock. Investigators say the attackers pirated controller software supplied by Danish firm Danfoss and appear to have disabled alarms or extended defrost cycles to avoid detection. Dominique Schelcher, president of Coopérative U, said 80 of its 2,000 supermarkets were targeted and called the incident unprecedented. Gérôme Billois of Wavestone said the operation bears the hallmarks of sabotage and suggested motivations could range from skillful youths or activists to state-linked destabilisation, naming Iran and Russia as actors known for similar tactics.
